


Undertale One Shots

by Lady_Arkytior_of_Dunans



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - BeastTale, Alternate Universe - Horrortale, Alternate Universe - Mafiafell, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Alternate Universe - mafiatale, Beasttale!Sans is a great big puppy, F/M, G!Sans is confident AF, HT!Sans has good intentions, Jealous UF!Sans, Monsters have strong instincts, Soul Sharing SFW, US!Papyrus is a mother hen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-04-14 16:36:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 35,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14140086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Arkytior_of_Dunans/pseuds/Lady_Arkytior_of_Dunans
Summary: I'm not so good at finishing long stories, so I've decided to try my hand at One Shots. Prompts and Requests are welcome. I also might do sequels to any chapters that get lots of love.It's been a while since I've written anything let alone shared it. Please let me know your honest opinions. I want to know the good, the bad, and the ugly. I can't improve if I don't know what needs fixing.





	1. Chapter 1

So I will be writing XReader stories. Mostly Sans, Papyrus, and Grillby from various AU's. UF!Sans is my personal favorite, but I want to try writing lots of different stuff. I plan on doing mostly fluff. As of right now, I have a few rough ideas but nothing concrete. Please feel free to submit ideas, prompts, and requests to help me get started!


	2. Jealousy (UF!SansxReader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You love Sans. You really do. But sometimes, he can be very, VERY difficult. Things get heated when Sans gets Jealous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first, I have to apologize for how long it took to get this out. I started this story 6 different times before it finally stuck to the plot.  
> I also had a few personal things come up with work and visiting friends who will soon be leaving the country.  
> But now I'm here! Hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Requested by Melda_Burke and submissive_maso_lin

You stormed down the street in a rage, hands fisted and teeth clenched. Normally, this trip would take you quite a bit longer with how much foot traffic there was this time of day. Instead, you were making great time thanks to the masses parting to stay out of your way, lest they incur your wrath.

You weren't generally an angry person. In fact, you were known to be quite patient. No one was surprised to find that it was your core trait when monsters came to the surface and "soul status" became apart of most routine check-ups. That said, even you had your limits.

You loved your boyfriend dearly, but that didn't make dating him easy. He was a monster, and monsters were all edgy bastards who acted tougher than they really were. But even so, you were best friends, partners, and you were madly in love with him.

He would never admit to any of that, but that was for safety. King Asgore had placed new laws to limit monster confrontations and forbid killing now that they were on the surface, but that didn't guarantee anyone's safety. Just because something is illegal doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Admitting that you were dating, or even just saying you were friends, would put Sans in danger for seeming weak and it would put you in danger as a target to use against him.

That never bothered you though. You had lived in a crappy part of the city when the barrier broke. When the monsters started looking for cheap new homes, most humans moved out. So, your neighborhood became Monster Town. Living around so many monsters, you came to understand their culture pretty quickly. There were asshole monsters just like there were asshole humans, but most monsters just acted edgy to protect themselves and the loved ones they would deny having.

Sans and your other monster friends were the same way. They would pick on you for being human and would generally just be rude, and you would do the same in return. You knew them well enough to sense the hidden affection under all of the name calling and shoulder punching. Outsiders might think you barely tolerate each other, but you knew that each one of those monsters would have your back if anyone ever actually messed with you.

Papyrus particularly loved to talk down to you and remind you of each and every way you were inferior to monsters in general and more so to him specifically. He would berate your home, your diet, your taste in movies, and just about every other aspect of your life. But, he would always include that hidden affection. When he complained about the cheap and/or unhealthy food you ate, he would bring you some of his (surprisingly edible) homemade lasagna and brag about how amazing he was. He would always do things like that: ripping into you only to turn around and take care of you in a very tsundere manner.

Sans was similar, though significantly more lazy. He didn't take care of you like Papyrus did, but he still watched out for you. Papyrus watched out for you physically. Sans watched out for your soul. You'd had a few bouts of depression through the years making bleak situations even bleaker. Sans helped you stay strong. He would pick on you and target all of the things that you hated most about yourself, your weaknesses and insecurities. He would do it in a way that would rile you up and get you angry until you would stand up and fight back. He never failed to get a rise out of you, but you knew that he was doing it for your sake. He would always look at you with smug pride when you would snap at him and insult him back.

You were lucky to have the skeleton brothers in your life, so it was no surprise when you grew attached to them as well. You got along well with Papyrus, seeing him as the older brother you'd never had. Sans though, you started crushing on Sans.

Hard.

You kept that to yourself for a while. It was no secret that Sans enjoyed "no-strings-attached" fun, and you weren't one for flings or one night stands. As much as it hurt, you knew it just wouldn't work between you. Then Sans started flirting. You flirted back of course, but you tried to hide how much you actually liked him. You would playfully flirt back while making your intentions clear. Anytime he would make a lewd joke or a suggestive comment, you would respond carefully, usually with a comment about "maybe if you had a little more meat on your bones" or something to that effect. That didn't stop him from flirting of course. Time passed and he just kept it up, always flirting but never quite pushing it too far. That didn't make it easy to deal with. Your little crush didn't go away with time. If anything, it only grew.

Then one day, he finally snapped. After you brushed off one of his more lewd comments with a saucy smile and a wink, he growled, grabbed you by the arms and kissed you hard. Well, he kissed you as well as a skeleton could. He didn't have lips, but you could feel magic sparking along his fangs, cushioning them against your lips in a most delightful way. Before you could snap out of your shock and respond, he pulled back and told you he was done. Either you be his girl or quit playing around. Once you made it clear you wouldn't be just a fling to be brushed aside later, you agreed and the two of you had been happy together ever since.

Until now.

You hadn't seen much of your vertebae in the last few weeks. He was busy helping Alphys finish the prototype of some high tech gizmo on top of his usual part-time jobs, and you were finishing up a project for your own job while trying to make time for a social life. You missed him, but you made sure to call and text when you could.

The whole situation would have been so much easier if the two of you lived together. Hell, you'd be fine living with him and Papyrus. Then at least you'd be able to see each other a little bit even when you're both super busy. Sadly, monsters were known to be incredibly territorial. A monster's territory was their safe haven. To invade that was asking to be dusted. While Sans and Papyrus were happy to let you into their apartment, visiting and living together were two totally different things. You wanted to move in with him, whether it be the two of you in your apartment or the three of you in theirs you didn't care. But asking about it could be viewed as invasive. You had to wait for Sans to make the first move.

He hadn't, of course. Instead, when you started seeing less of each other, he started getting pissy. You tried to keep in touch with texts throughout the day and calls when you knew you both had a few minutes of break time. But, Sans was being incredibly difficult. He rarely if ever responded to your texts, whether they were questions or just little "thinking of you"s, and he would be short with his responses when you called.

Today had been the last straw. The two of you finally had a day off on the same day, so you made sure to plan a date. Nothing special, just dinner and a movie, but you made sure to have a table saved at Grillby's and let Sans pick the movie you would go see.

He went on and on about this stupid slasher flick that just came out and how badly he wanted to see it. You liked horror movies but always preferred psychological horror and thrillers. The ridiculous quantities of blood and gore just made you queasy. You really didn't want to see this movie, but if it was the price of getting to spend time with your bonefriend, you would gladly pay it. So, you got to the theater nice and early, bought the tickets, and waited for him.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, you pulled out your phone to text him.

 

**You**

**Where are you?**

 

You waited two full minutes before finally getting a reply.

 

**Vertebae**

**home**

**You**

**U taking a shortcut? Previews already started.**

**Vertebae**

**yea 4got 2 txt not goin**

**You**

**What do you mean not going???**

**Vertebae**

**means not goin.**

**You**

**Why??? Are you alright???**

**Vertebae**

**Fine**

**You**

**So why aren't you coming???**

**Vertebae**

**don feel likit**

 

He didn't feel like it?!

**You**

**It's date night!**

**Vertebae**

**?**

**You**

**We talked about this! Dinner and a movie! I let you pick out the movie!**

**Vertebae**

**don feel like goin out**

**You**

**So you're bailing on date night?!**

**Vertebae**

**y**

**You**

**No! I'm sorry! "Bailing" would imply you telling me!**  
**You weren't even going to text me were you?!**  
**You were just going to stand me up!!!**

**Vertebae**

**nbd**

 

You were furious! You started angrily typing a reply, but your rage induced spelling errors were too much for even autocorrect to handle, so you just decided to call him.

It rang and rang before finally going to voicemail. What the hell?! You _knew_ he had his phone on him! He was just texting you! You called again and this time he picked up on the third ring.

"sup?" he asked.

"What do you mean, 'sup'?! How can you say it's not a big deal?!"

"cuz it's not."

"You were seriously going to stand me up?! We've barely seen each other these past few weeks, and now that we both have a day off I'm trying to make sure we can spend time together and you just decide not to bother without so much as texting me?! I'm your girlfriend!"

"are you?!" he snapped.

You paused.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I'm your girlfriend."

"really? cuz ya coulda fooled me."

"What the hell do you mean by that?! I've been going out of my way to try to keep in touch with you! I've been texting you every chance I get just to tell you I'm thinking about you, and I've been calling whenever I can just to hear your voice! Hell, I even called Papyrus to get your schedule to make sure I don't disrupt anything important when I call! I made sure to plan this date because I freaking miss you! I let you pick the movie even though you _know_ how much I _hate_ slasher flicks, and I made a _reservation_ at Grillby's! Did you know that he charges you to make a reservation at his place?! Even if you're the only one to make a reservation for any time that week!? Cause he does! But I didn't care! I was happy to do it because it meant I would get to see you and spend time with you and maybe even see you smile! And you turn around, stand me up, and then say it's not a big deal!"

You were huffing and puffing by the end of your rant. He didn't say anything while you were catching your breath. Your eyes were prickling from all of the emotions raging in your skull, but you refused to cry.

"sorry i'm so much trouble," he finally sneered through the phone. "i'm sure ya can find a nice _human_ guy who'll be dazzled by all of your _effort_."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"it means piss off. we're done."

You stood frozen in the theater lobby, the phone still pressed to your ear though you heard the click of him hanging up.

Did he just.....dump you???

You wiped at your face as the tears you had been fighting started to fall and called him back.

It went straight to voicemail.

You hung up and called again

Straight to Voicemail.

You sent him a text telling him to answer the phone then called again.

Voicemail.

You pressed the 'end call' button harder than necessary and stormed through the lobby and out the door. Just as you were passing the ticket booth, you saw a couple asking for tickets to the slasher flick.

"Here," you interrupted. "My friend just canceled. You guys can have our tickets." You shot them a quick smile as they thanked you and made your way out the door. There was no _way_ this was over! Did he seriously think he could dump you over the phone and you would just be okay with it?! And then not answering when you tried to call him back?!

So you stormed down the street to his apartment where you would face him and get some answers. He did NOT get to act like he was in the right after how much effort you had been putting into this relationship!

As you walked the mile from the theater to his apartment, you let your mind and emotions simmer. Maybe you weren't seeing everything. Did something happen? Was this his edgy monster way of trying to protect you from something? That was possible, though it seemed unlikely. You would give him a chance to explain. If it was something twisted and lost in translation between cultures, then you would forgive him. After tearing him a new one, of course.

Finally, you made it to the apartment complex. Thank God you thought to wear comfy shoes that day. Power walking a mile and then climbing the three flights of steps up to his door would have been too much for your feet in anything other than sneakers.

You didn't slow your stride once you made it to his floor. You marched right up to his door and pounded your fist against it.

"Sans! Open up! Now!"

You paused a moment, but you didn't hear anything inside. Had he run off to hide from you? Could he really be that cowardly?

"Sans!" you shouted with another hard knock. "Open the damn door!" Finally, you heard something. You put your fist down as the door opened to see Papyrus staring down at you.

"THIS IS NOT A GOOD TIME, HUMAN."

"Too bad! Sans is being stupid and he's not getting away with it!" Papyrus hesitated.

"HUMAN, WHATEVER HAS HAPPENED BETWEEN YOU AND MY BROTHER IS CLEARLY IMPORTANT, BUT-"

"But nothing!" you shouted and reached out to shove Papyrus out of your way. Normally you wouldn't be able to make him budge, but it seemed you managed to catch him off guard as he stumbled to the side. You snatched your opportunity and slipped through the door. You hadn't been in their apartment many times, but you had hung out there often enough to know the layout perfectly. You strode over to Sans's bedroom, deftly avoiding sharp table corners and haphazard socks that would trip you, and began pounding on that door.

"Sans! You selfish ass! Get out here!"

"what the hell?" You whipped around to see him emerge from the kitchen with a bottle of mustard.

"SANS, YOU'VE MANAGED TO MAKE HER LOSE HER TEMPER." Papyrus sounded almost impressed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Yeah, Sans," you snapped. "Tell Papyrus what you did!"

"i didn't do nothin'," he growled.

"Oh, so I was just imagining that whole thing with you standing me up and then _dumping_ me?!" Papyrus's head snapped up to stare at you then over to Sans.

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

"it ain't a big deal."

"The Hell It Isn't!!!" you and Papyrus shouted in unison. You were both too angry to call jinx.

"it ain't. so drop it. take a hint, sweetheart. there's a reason i stopped answering the phone."

"Yeah, because you're being an idiot and an asshole! You don't get to stand here and act like you were perfectly justified in dumping me! I have been working my butt off to make sure we can still spend time together and talk to each other and you haven't been doing jack shit! You hardly respond to my texts, you barely talk to me when I call, and when we finally get a chance to see each other you stand me up!"

"oh yeah, yer such a saint," he sneered. "i should consider myself lucky ta be graced with yer attention, huh? well guess what, princess, ya ain't all that great!"

"I'm not saying that! I'm saying that _you_ don't get to act all high and mighty when _I'm_ the only one who has been putting effort into this relationship!"

"oh yeah, all that effort that yer _complainin'_ about. if ya don't like it, stop tryin' so hard."

"I put in all that effort because I _wanted_ to! I text you and call you because I _want_ to talk to you! I set up this whole date because I _want_ to spend time with you! I got us tickets for a movie _you_ wanted to see and reservations at _your_ favorite restaurant because I _want_ you to be happy!"

"bullshit!" He shouted and threw his bottle of mustard to the floor. "i know full well this is all just a front! ya ain't goin' through all this trouble just ta make me _happy_."

"Yes I am! That's what people do when they love someone!" You and Sans both froze and stared each other down, Papyrus staying silent in the background as he watched the train wreck. That was the first time either of you had ever even mentioned the L-word.

"don't say shit ya don't mean," he growled softly.

"I never do," you growled back.

"no! yer just saying shit ta make me feel bad!"

"No, I'm not! I love you!"

"no, ya don't!"

"Why? I don't get to love you because you're too much of a coward to say it back?" Sans's glare turned murderous. You could see Papyrus in your peripheral looking unsure whether he should stay frozen, intervene, or get the hell out of dodge.

"if ya love me so much," Sans spoke slowly, "then why the hell are ya cheatin' on me?" That shocked you out of your own heated glare.

"What? Sans, what the hell are you talking about?"

"cut the act." His voice was still low. "ya've been doin' all of this dotin' shit ta cover up the fact that yer cheatin' on me."

"Sans, I am not, nor have I ever cheated on you. Why would you think that?"

"because i saw ya!"

"What?"

"i saw ya. with that blonde pretty boy havin' a picnic in the park. i might've let that one slide. it bugged me, but he's an old friend of yers, and maybe picnics ain't as romantic fer humans. but then i saw ya with that asshole _mutt_ ! wasn't nothin' _friendly_ about _that_!"

"The 'blonde pretty boy' is Kyle. And you're right, he's been my friend for a long time. And now, he's engaged to my best friend. He asked me to have a picnic with him because that was how he wanted to propose to Sarah but he wasn't sure of the logistics, so we did a little test run. If you ever bothered to actually _read_ any of the texts I sent you, you'd know that I _told_ you about that whole thing. I even asked if you minded." You pulled out your phone and scrolled through to the text you sent him. "Right here. 'Hey, sugar skull. My friend Kyle wants help figuring out how to propose. He wants to use me as a practice run. You ok with that?'" You read off the text then shoved the phone in Sans's face so he could see it for himself. "You never responded to that one, so I decided to go ahead and help him."

"and the _mutt_?" he spat out the question.

"Who are you talking about?" you asked genuinely confused.

"the mutt ya were with at muffet's! i know ya've seen _him_ more than once!"

"You mean Fang? Yeah, I've bumped into him a couple times when I take my break there. We sit and talk, that's it."

"bullshit!" You threw your arms up in exasperation.

"Sans, I am not going to sit here and cater to whatever delusions you're having! There is _nothing_ going on between me and _Fang_ of all people."

"then why the hell are ya covered in his scent?!"

"What?" Now you were really confused. You knew that most monsters had slightly better senses than humans, but you didn't see where this was going.

"yer always covered in his scent. ya smell like him right now!" He pointed at you to emphasize his point and you looked down. You noticed a few white hairs clinging stubbornly to your jacket.

"What, the fur? He's a dog monster. I give him pats just like I give to the canine unit whenever I see them."

"ya wouldn't be covered in fur over a few _pats_ ," he snarled.

"Dogs shed, Sans. I'm sorry I didn't wash my coat well enough." You were getting really annoyed now. You didn't like any of this and you didn't understand why he was so upset over it!

"he shouldn't've been sheddin' on ya in the first place!"

"Dogs. Shed. Sans. It's not something they can control!"

"MONSTERS CAN," Papyrus interrupted. You both turned to look at him, almost forgetting he was there.

"What?"

"MONSTERS WITH FUR  AND  SCALES  AND  SUCH  CAN  CONTROL  HOW AND WHEN THEY SHED. THEY SOMETIMES SHED FOR COMFORT. I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT SCALES AND FUR CAN GET QUITE ITCHY WHEN THEY GROW OLD.  BUT IT'S USUALLY USED AS A WAY TO MARK TERRITORY."

"What? But the canine unit always shed on me when I pet them."

"THEY EACH SHED ON YOU A LITTLE BIT TO SHOW YOU ARE PROTECTED. THEY'RE IN THE ROYAL GUARD, SO IT'S A WAY OF SHOWING ANYONE WHO HURTS YOU HAS TO ANSWER TO THE GUARD.  UNDYNE AND I DO THE SAME THING. YOU ALWAYS HAVE A SLIGHT TRACE OF ONE OF OUR SCENTS AT SOME POINT. BUT WE LEAVE A FAINT MARK WHICH FADES OVER TIME. THIS MEANS WE HAVE TO RENEW IT, BUT IT'S NOT SO STRONG AS TO CLAIM YOU AS OURS.  THIS," he pointed to your furry jacket, "IS VERY STRONG AND VERY DELIBERATE."

You stood there silently for a moment as you tried to process this.

"So you're saying that Fang has been marking me as his?"

"YES."

_"THAT PIECE OF SHIT!!!"_ you screeched, making both skeletons jump. You started pacing as you began fuming. "I've been putting up with fur on all my clothes because I thought he couldn't help it! It's getting warmer and he has thick fur! I felt bad for that asshole! There I was, feeling sorry for him because I thought he was dying of heat stroke and he was trying to _claim_ me?! Hell, he _knows_ I have a boyfriend! Who puts their scent all over someone who they _know_ is taken?!"

"THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. DON'T YOU THINK, SANS?" Papyrus finally regained his usual confidence and stood with his arms crossed as he glared at Sans. The shorter skeleton at least has the decency to look cowed.

"ya really didn't know what he was doin?"

"Of course not! How could I? You guys are all so territorial. You're even territorial about being territorial! You say you're territorial, but you never actually explain what that means! I didn't know scent marking was even a thing with monsters!"

"TECHNICALLY, WE'RE MARKING WITH MAGIC. DIFFERENT TYPES OF MONSTERS PERCEIVE IT IN DIFFERENT WAYS. WE JUST HAPPEN TO USE OUR SENSE OF SMELL."

"But why would he think that was okay?! I talk about Sans all the time! Why would he try to mark me if he could smell Sans?" Papyrus didn't respond, but instead looked to Sans. You looked over to see him glaring miserably down at the floor with his hands shoved into his pockets.

"he couldn't smell me," Sans spoke so quietly you could barely hear him. "cause i never marked ya."

Oh.

You......weren't sure how to respond to that.

Why didn't he mark you? Was it just that he was trying to protect you? Or was it because.....he didn't love you?

You were starting to question everything now.

Did he hide your relationship to keep you safe? Or was it because he was embarrassed to be seen dating a human?

Did he keep you at a distance in public to keep you out of harm's way? Or was he just not that interested?

Was he bored with you now?

Was he upset over this whole "cheating" thing because it hurt him? Or was he using this as a way to end things now that he lost interest?

You could feel tears sliding down your cheeks, but you made no move to wipe them away or hide them.

"i didn't- i mean-" Sans sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "i didn't mark ya cause i thought ya knew about all that shit. didn't think ya wanted ta be marked."

"Why would you think that?" You sniffled and wiped your runny nose with your sleeve. Under normal circumstance, Papyrus would be screeching at you for how unsanitary that is, but right now he didn't bother and you didn't care.

"ya never made any moves," he said with a shrug.

"Moves? What kind of moves?"

"ya always suggested meetin' up someplace public instead of one of our apartments. ya never let me cook fer ya. ya never laid any claim on me, and ya never seemed like ya wanted me ta lay any claim on ya." You stood staring at him for a few moments before closing your eyes, taking a deep breath, and then letting it out slowly.

"Okay, we need to talk to Frisk and Mettaton about putting out some freakin' PSAs, because there are too many cultural differences to navigate." You opened your eyes and stared intently into Sans's eyelights.

"uh-"

"I always suggested meeting someplace public because I didn't want to barge in where I wasn't wanted. I thought suggesting your place would seem invasive, and I thought suggesting my place would be too forward." Though you had been dating for six months, you hadn't slept together.

"forward-?"

"When you didn't make a move after all the flirting and lewd comments, I figured you didn't want to rush, so I was waiting for you."

"fer me?!" He sounded incredulous. Well, that was just another thing you would have to talk over. But first, you had to clear up this miscommunication.

"I never let you cook for me because I thought you were only offering to be nice. I know you're generally pretty lazy so I didn't think you actually _wanted_ to cook for me. I always suggested take out or delivery so we could be lazy together." This time he didn't try to say anything. He seemed to be in shock, so you continued.

"I never tried to lay any claim on you or hint that I wanted you to claim me because monsters hide any affection they feel for someone and," now you broke eye contact. This was your biggest insecurity with your relationship. You stared down at the floor and willed your voice not to crack. "And I know you prefer "no-strings". I didn't want to seem too clingy and scare you off. I liked you so much for so long, but I thought you wouldn't be interested in anything more than one night. Then you kissed me and we started dating and," you paused to sniffle and try to calm your breathing. "And I didn't want to ruin things by moving too quickly." After a few moments of silence, you made yourself look up at Sans to gauge his reaction. It still looked pretty shocked. The two of you just stood staring at each other, trying to grasp the whole situation.

"WELL!" You and Sans jumped when Papyrus broke the silence. "ON THAT NOTE, I'LL BE HEADING OUT! UNDYNE OWES ME 50 G!" You both watched him stride across the apartment and out the door, Nyeh-heh-heh-ing as he went.

"They bet on us?"

"more likely on me doin' somethin' stupid," he said with a groan. He scrubbed his hand over his face and then over his skull. "i really screwed up, huh?"

"We both did," you said with a watery chuckle. "We just made assumptions about what was really going on instead of talking to each other."

"don't suppose ya'd be willin' ta sit and talk things out now?" he asked as he looked at you sheepishly.

"I'd love that."

* * *

 

A few minutes later, you were both situated on the couch, Sans with a new bottle of mustard, and you with a steaming mug of hot cocoa. You were snuggled together as you talked things out.

"You really want to cook for me?" You were still pretty skeptical on that one.

"yeah, i do. i want ta take care of ya. i guess it's a monster thing. see, when we cook, we put some of our own magic into it. so when we cook fer someone we care about, that bit of magic gives their soul a little boost ta help them stay strong and healthy."

"And when I suggested delivery instead, I ended up insulting you. Like I'd rather have something cheap and fast than something you make for me."

"i know ya didn't mean it that way."

"Yeah, _now_ you do. But then? I must have seemed like a total bitch!"

"not a _total_ bitch," he chuckled and you gave him a whack on the arm.  "ya usually picked a place ya know i like, so it came across more like, 'we ain't there yet', not a complete shutdown." That wasn't quite as bad.

"What about the apartment vs public thing? Why was it such a big deal that I wanted to hang in public?"

"it wasn't that ya wanted ta hang in public, it was that ya tried ta avoid our apartments. thought maybe ya didn't feel safe."

"I always feel safe with you. That's why I don't mind going lots of different places with you. I know that wherever we are, you'll take care of me." You furrowed your brows. "But this is a territory thing, right? You want me to feel safe in your territory."

"right. i know this all seems pretty stupid, but-"

"It's not stupid at all. This is a pretty bad neighborhood, and it was even worse before monsters came to the surface. Feeling safe is important. And I know it must have been pretty important underground."

"it was. didn't really think about it before, but everythin' i've been doin' is a pretty monster thing ta do."

"Well you are a monster," you said with a giggle.

"yeah, but ya ain't." Your smile slipped. "not that that's a problem!" he said quickly. "there’s nothin' wrong with ya bein' human! it just means ya don't know all this stuff already. i shoulda known ta tell ya all this six months ago." He grimaced. "it also means that even if ya knew about markin', ya wouldn't be able ta sense that the mutt was markin' ya that way."

"Which brings me to our next point. You said I never tried to claim you. Like I said, I didn't want to scare you off by being clingy. But, how exactly would a human go about claiming a monster?" You tried to ask in a way that didn't make you seem totally desperate. Based on Sans's snicker, you're not sure you succeeded.

"ya don't have enough magic ta really mark me, but there are other little things like wearin' somethin' of mine or givin' me somethin' of yers ta wear."

"Wait, is that why you wear that collar?" you asked, pointing to the spiked dog collar he always wore.

"kinda," he said and rubbed the back of his skull. "i found it in the dump and thought it made me look tough. then when boss made lieutenant in the royal guard, he stuck his name on the tag ta keep people from using me against him. made me seem more like property than someone he cares about." You frowned at that.

"Property? Then why do you still wear it?"

"it only ever seemed that way ta others. i always knew better. and it always helped me remember that he actually gave a damn about me when he had ta treat me like garbage in public." Your frown didn’t lessen much. "and this is why i never mentioned anythin' like this ta ya. i didn't want ta seem like a creepy asshole."

"Do you want me to wear a collar with your name on it?"

"i ain't ever gonna ask ya ta do somethin' ya ain't comfortable with."

"That wasn't an answer."

"fine," he sighed. "yes, i'd like it if ya wore somethin' with my name on it. i think wearin' a matchin' collar would be hot."

"Could it be a choker necklace that matches?" His head snapped around to stare at you.

"wait, really?"

"A dog collar like yours doesn't really fit the dress code for work, but they have no problem with necklaces as long as they're not long enough to get caught on something. Then I can wear it all the time." He stared at you in wonder for a few moments, when you were struck with an idea. "Oh!" You quickly put your mug down so you wouldn't spill it in your excitement. "But I'll only wear it if I can put a tag with my name on your collar." You spoke confidently, but you worried this wouldn't go over well. Was this too much? Were you pushing too far by demanding this? Not if his reaction was anything to go by.

"seriously?! ya'd wanna do that?!" he seemed so excited.

"Yeah. I meant what I said earlier." You couldn't help the blush that bloomed on your cheeks as you thought back to your outburst.

"earlier?" You watched his eyelights dart back and forth as he played through everything you said today. You knew he caught what you meant when his sockets widened.

"ya love me?" he whispered.

"I do. I don't expect you to say it back. Now or ever. I know that kind of thing is pretty taboo for monsters. I'm fine just-"

"i love you." He interrupted. You genuinely hadn't expected that. "i love ya so much, ya have no idea. every time i flirted with ya i'd be tryin' ta suck it up and ask ya out. i can't remember a time i was happier than when ya agreed ta go out with me. i'm a greedy bastard and i want ya all ta myself. when i saw ya with the pretty boy and the mutt, i-"

"I'm sorry," you whispered back as you hugged him tight. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"ain't yer fault. i shoulda read yer text about pretty boy, and i shoulda just talked ta ya about the mutt."

"We both screwed up here. We should have talked about all of this a long time ago." You nuzzled into his neck as you spoke. "But now we know. We'll talk things through because this is worth whatever effort it takes to make it work."

"damn right it is. which is why i gotta apologize too. before 'us', i might've had a few flings-"

"A few?"

"okay, a bunch. but ya ain't just a fling. i didn't push any of this cause i didn't wanna rush. i was waitin' fer ya ta make the first move with things."

"And I was waiting for you."

"and now we know ta talk ta each other and not assume shit," he chuckled. You smiled back, relived with the way things had worked out.

"And since I'm apparently bad at giving signals," you whispered as you cuddled him, "this is me saying I'd be thrilled if you'd mark me as your girlfriend." Sans gave an appreciative growl and nipped at your earlobe.

"ya sure ya know what yer askin' fer?" You responded by nipping at his cervical vertebrae.

"I think we've both waited long enough to go to the bonezone," you purred. Sans growled again in a far more predatory way and tackled you onto the couch where he proceeded to cover you in his scent, his magic, and several large hickies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, confession time. This was the first romance story I've ever written. And I spent less time editing than I probably should have, but I didn't want you guys to have to wait too much longer.  
> So there we go. Please comment with what you liked, what you didn't like, and critiques. I want to better myself as a writer and I can't do that if I don't know what needs improvement. That said, please be constructive. Don't just complain about stuff.
> 
> Next up is some US!Papyrus Fluff!


	3. Sick (US!PapyrusxReader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You don't get sick very often, but when you do, it's HELL. Here's some US!Papyrus fluff to help you feel better!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Curse the Underswap Muses! This story did NOT want to be written. All of these other AU ideas kept popping into my head every time I sat down to write! So here it is (finally). Enjoy!

You groaned as you slowly returned to consciousness, pulling your large comforter closer and nuzzling into your pillow. You hated this. Being sick sucked. Your head throbbed, feeling heavier than it had any right to. You pondered for a moment how that was possible considering you also felt light-headed, but a wave of dizziness pushed that thought right out of your mind.

"hey there," a gentle voice crooned. "you finally awake? how are you feeling?" You blinked your eyes open and took a moment for the world to come into focus. Papyrus, your lovable lazy boyfriend, was sitting on the floor beside your bed.

"P-Pap?" you croaked. You frowned and struggled to swallow, but your throat felt like a desert.

"here," he said gently. He brought a glass of water to your lips and helped you sit up just enough to drink without choking. "that better?"

"Y-yeah." You still sounded terrible even if your throat didn't hurt quite as much. "What're ya doin here?" you slurred.

"i'm taking care of you." You blinked at him for a moment.

"Why?" He snorted at that. You were still pretty confused.

"'cause you need me." You opened your mouth to argue that you were just fine on your own, but he held up a hand to stop you. "and before you say anything, yes, you really do need me. this fever is really bad." You tried to argue but, again, he cut you off. "you were delirious, honey."

"Huh?" You forced yourself to be a little more awake to really listen to him.

"poor sans came running up to me in a panic saying that you were in trouble and needed our help right away. apparently, you called him in hysterics about how the purple pandas ran out of kale and wouldn't eat their pixie stix." You groaned and burrowed into your blankets making Papyrus chuckle. "it took a while, but i managed to convince him to stay home while i came to take care of you. he's making 'get-well-soon-friendship-taco-soup'. so there's that. not sure how good it'll taste, but i'm sure it'll be chock full of healing magic."

"Sorry about this," you mumbled. "I'm usually fine on my own." He frowned at that.

"honey, how often do you get sick?"

"I usually get sick for about a week and then I'm healthy as can be the whole rest of the year. It's like my body gets all of its sick days out of the way all at once. So I don't get sick often, but when I do..."

"you end up bedridden and delusional," he said with a wry smile. How could skeletons even smile wryly? You knew his face was more flexible than human bone, but-

Thinking too hard was making your head hurt worse.

"I don't get delusional from being sick," you pouted. "It's this medicine I take. It's super strong and helps me fight whatever bugs I end up with, but it also knocks me on my ass. I have some pretty weird dreams when I take it, but I've never called anyone before."

"people are allowed to sell medicine that makes you delusional?"

"Probably? I mean there are some medicines out there that have some pretty weird side effects, but the FDA only approves stuff if the margin is small enough, I guess? This medicine doesn't make everyone delusional, I just have a sensitivity to it. And I'm fine dealing with this as a side effect because it means I get better faster." He was frowning again.

"you shouldn't have to put up with this just to get better."

"Maybe, but it does its job. Speaking of, my head is killing me. I need to take some more before I start coughing up a lung." He looked bewildered and a little frightened. "Figuratively!" you said with a wheezy chuckle. "I promise I've never expelled any internal organs before." He calmed down but still didn't look too happy.

"have you tried monster medicine?"

"I tried eating a few monster candies when I first started feeling sick," you told him, "but it didn't do much." He shook his head.

"monster candies heal damage, they don't heal sickness. i'm sure asgore has some that i could borrow. uh, if you'd be willing to try?" You could see a little bit of apprehension in his eye sockets as he fidgeted. Papyrus was always so laid back that you tended to forget just how much of a mother hen he could be.

It was more than a year after befriending the skeletons that you first saw this side of Papyrus. You walked into their house one day to see Sans bundled up on the sofa with Papyrus flitting from the kitchen to his brother and back. Sans explained that he loved taking care of others, especially his brother, so Papyrus always let him do the caretaking. But occasionally, something would happen that would trigger Papyrus's nurturing instincts and he would be unable to rest or relax until his instincts were satisfied. So whenever something triggered Papyrus, Sans would sit back and let Papyrus fuss until he calmed down. Sans had come home injured after a training session with Alphys, and Papyrus had promptly bundled him up in blankets and forbade him from moving. You had giggled at this and asked Papyrus how you could help only to be bundled up and deposited right next to Sans.

You smiled at the memory and reached your hand out to your boyfriend. He quickly and gently clutched your hand, subtly brushing his finger over the pulse point on your wrist, no doubt trying to check your heart rate.

"I would love to try some monster medicine."

"great!" he said, smiling wide. "i'll be right back." There was a slight displacement of air as he vanished, only to return a few seconds later with a large glass bottle.

"Papyrus, did you ask him for the medicine or did you just shortcut into his house and take it from his medicine cabinet?"

"uh..." A bead of sweat rolled down his skull. "unimportant! you need this and i'll be sure to return it when you're better." He paused and looked at the bottle. "on second thought, we're keeping this one. i'll buy him another one."

"Papyrus, sweetie, do I really need the whole bottle? Overdosing won't help me get better faster. Or at all for that matter. Wait, is overdosing a thing with monster medicine?"

"it is. i'm not sure how it works with human medicine, but taking too much monster medicine too quickly can cause magical build up in the soul which can cause a whole slew of problems depending on the type of monster, the type of magic they use, and how frequently they use it. i have no idea what it could do to a human, and no intention of finding out." Papyrus could be so adorable when he got all serious. Almost as adorable as when he smiled. "besides, you'll need this the next time you get sick. it's just safer to keep some of this around."

"I trust you, sweetie." He smiled at that.

"here," he poured a little into a spoon he pulled from somewhere and held it up to your lips. "this should be enough for now. there aren't directions for dosage like with humans. monster medicine is basically a cure-all for just about any kind of illness, which means that how much you take varies depending on the illness and the person." As soon as you swallowed the surprisingly not gross tasting medicine, your eyelids became absurdly heavy. You tried to ask him a question, but were cut off by a massive yawn. "go ahead and get some sleep. i’ll wake you when it’s time to eat."

* * *

Waking up was much more pleasant the second time around. You felt a bony hand gently stroking your hair as you snuggled into your pillow.

"rise and shine, honey," Papyrus cooed.

"How long was I out?" you asked with a stretch.

"a few hours. i only woke you up 'cause sans is here with his soup. it actually tastes pretty good, considering he went a little crazy with it." You smiled gently up at him, not surprised in the least that he already tasted it. Normally, you'd tease him for eating food Sans made for you, but you knew it was his instincts driving him to ensure that you were only eating the best. You blushed when your stomach gave a loud grumble.

"Guess I'm pretty hungry."

"you feeling any better?" he asked as he helped you sit up.

"A bit. Looks like the monster medicine helped."

"and it didn't make you hallucinate or anything." You stuck your tongue out at him, causing him to chuckle. Just as you got situated into your new position, you noticed something.

"Papyrus, did you bring more pillows and blankets?" You were surrounded by a veritable mountain of bedding. Every pillow and blanket in your apartment, even the decorative ones, were piled high on your bed. You even noticed a few from his house.

"i, uh, well....i just wanted to make sure you were comfortable and warm." He rubbed the back of his skull sheepishly as if he expected you to yell at him.

"Is this a 'monster instinct' thing?"

"yeah...."

"Papyrus, I understand that monster instincts are a lot stronger than human instincts. I'm not gonna be upset with you for following them."

"i know, i just...." he heaved a sigh. "monsters tend to move a bit faster in relationships because of our instincts. all relationships, not just romantic ones. i don't want to overwhelm you or scare you off or something."

"I remember. The day I met you guys Sans made sure we all traded phone numbers and were connected through facebook, skype, snapchat, and discord. He even tried to connect through tinder." Papyrus gave a hearty laugh at that.

"the look on his face when you explained what 'swiping right' actually meant was priceless!"

"I don't think I've ever seen your brother look quite so indignant as he did right then." He wiped a glowing orange tear from his socket. "So I understand. You're not going to scare me off by doting on me. And you're less likely to scare me if I know why you're doing something. If you don't tell me anything and you try to keep me bundled up and locked away, I'm going to get freaked out. If you _tell_ me that your instincts are telling you to keep me warm and comfy and safe inside, then I'll happily snuggle up with you until I'm better.”

"you're right, as usual," he chuckles.

"You're darn right I am. Now get over here and snuggle me." Your stomach let out another rumbling growl and Papyrus snickered.

"i'll bring up your food," he pressed a skeleton kiss to your forehead before vanishing. A moment later, he reappeared with a bowl of soup.

You took a few moments to get settled in bed together so you could lean against him as he fed you. You argued that you were well enough to ladle soup into your mouth, but Papyrus insisted. You didn't talk much as your skeletal boyfriend was more concerned with ensuring that you ate every drop of healing food. Once the bowl was finally empty (Papyrus damn near made you lick it clean), you let out another jaw-cracking yawn.

"are you really tired again already?" Your poor skelebae looked so worried.

"I've got a belly full of yummy food, a super comfy nest of a bed, and the most huggable skeleton ever. How could I not want to sleep." He still looked worried. "Sleep helps us heal, you worry-wart. When humans are sick, we sleep to let our bodies use all of our energy toward fighting whatever virus or bacteria made us sick in the first place."

"well," he gave a long-suffering sigh. "then i guess we have no choice but to sleep all day."

"I don't know how you'll manage," you said with a smirk.

"the things i do for love." You giggled as you both cuddled up and burrowed into your nest of blankets and fluff.

"Hey, Papyrus?"

"yes?"

"I love you."

"i love you too, honey."

"You're the sweetest guy ever."

"i try."

"No, really. You are so incredibly sweet."

"yup."

"And thoughtful."

"uh-huh".

"And nice."

"i know."

"And kind."

"honey?"

"Yes?'

"go to sleep."

You giggled as you nuzzled into his collarbone. Being sick sucked. But if Papyrus started taking care of you every time you got sick, well, you wouldn’t really mind it quite so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently, "Monsters having strong instincts" is a part of my head cannon. Pretty sure there's nothing like this in the games, but it's kinda become the secondary theme of this collection of one shots. Also, just a reminder, please comment below with any critiques, suggestions, or requests!


	4. Lost in Translation (Beasttale!SansxReader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with monsters can be confusing enough.  
> Beasts are a whole new world of confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo......This chapter ended up WAY longer than I anticipated. It's longer than the last two chapters put together. So enjoy!  
> UPDATE: Hey, so this story has kind of evolved into its own entity. Check out my story "Lost in Translation" for the whole thing. Also be sure to check out Cinnabun's story "The Big Bad Woods"! It's a companion fic to this one about BT!Paps!

Several years ago, the magical barrier on Mount Ebott was broken and Monsters came to the surface. It didn't take long for integration to become the big issue that everyone was talking and arguing about. There were humans who were against it, but there were far more supporters. Between the child ambassador and the human organizations who fought for equality, rights were quickly earned for the more humanoid monsters. Then there were the less "human" monsters like Moldsmals and Froggits and other breeds who couldn't usually speak human languages. They had some problems proving their sentience for a while but eventually gained citizenship rights as well, even if they were limited.

But Monsters weren't the only ones who came out from the Mountain. There were the Beasts. Apparently, the "Beast Monster" was an anomaly in monster genetics. They're not sure what caused it. Past research indicated that the parents' Beast status influenced the likelihood of Beast children, though it's not the only cause. Two Beasts would most likely have a Beast child, though it was entirely possible for them to have a Monster child. Likewise, two Monsters would most likely have Monster children but were capable of having Beast children. In some cases, parents would have several children that matched their own status and then one who differed. It was no surprise when the scientific community began delving into this. Because Monsters were made mostly of magic, they couldn't simply look at DNA and genetics.

But of course, this caused dozens of problems for Beasts Monsters gaining rights. Even in the Underground and monster society as a whole, Beasts were treated differently. Not treated badly, just differently. It mostly came down to how instinctive and aggressive Beast Monsters could be. While most Monsters were protective of their territory (i.e. their homes, families, and prized possessions), Beast Monsters were on a whole different level.

You had learned a lot about monsters when your best friend Leah met a Monster named Alphys. They were quite possibly the two biggest nerds you had ever met. Alphys was small, even for a regular monster, at only 4'11", and you could see how her size had impacted her self-esteem. She was always a stuttering mess unless she was talking about something she was truly passionate about. With Leah, that was anime. Those two would get started and they would both talk so fast that it's a wonder they were even able to understand each other. With you, it was monsters. You grew up loving fantasy stories and magic, though you had a different view than most people. You wanted to be a princess so that a dragon would kidnap you. Not because you wanted a prince to come and save you, but because you thought living with a dragon would be the coolest thing ever.

When you finally admitted this to Alphys and began asking her about the science behind magic and monsters, she cheerfully began bombarding you with answers and explanations. She even let you borrow some of her scientific journals from the Underground. Of course, most of this went over your head, but you still avidly absorbed all the information you could. It was when you asked about Beast Monsters that she grew hesitant. For the first time since revealing your curiosity, she paused before answering. After a moment of silence, she quietly offered to introduce you to some of her friends.

First was Undyne, another Monster, who stood at a more average 6'3". After introductions and a brief, if foolish, arm wrestling match, Undyne dubbed you and Leah as new members of her Nerd Herd. This was the group of "weenies" who she vowed to protect and tease mercilessly.

Then came the Skeleton Brothers. They were the first Beast Monsters you had ever seen, let alone talked to. It didn't take long to realize that they really were just people, despite their monstrous size and shape. Sans was short for a Beast Monster at 7'10", while Papyrus was a whopping 12'5". Their phalanges were pointed as if to mimic claws, their skulls lengthened to give them snouts, and they each had a tail that was long enough to drag along the ground behind them. So, yes. They both looked terrifying. And yet, Papyrus was the sweetest person you had ever met. He was like a giant puppy!

Sans could still scare you sometimes, but only because he was the alpha and alphas could be pretty damn terrifying. Beast Monsters followed an ABO dynamic that was tied to their magic. While both skeletons were alphas by nature, Sans was the protector of the two, making him The Alpha. You knew better than to test him and his alpha-ness, but you enjoyed teasing him. You genuinely found his jokes funny and were willing to joke back with him. This led to the two of you becoming close. Very close.

You weren't completely sure where you stood with him at the moment. You'd thought you were pretty close friends, but he'd been acting strange and distant lately. You did your own research into Beast interactions thanks to the journals Alphys loaned you, but you couldn't find anything that matched. Maybe it was less of a "Beast Thing" and more of a "Sans Thing". It took awhile, but you finally managed to get Alphys alone to ask her.

"W-what do you m-mean?" she asked. "I haven't n-noticed anything."

"Really? He hasn't seemed weird at all?"

"N-not really?" she shrugged. "I m-mean, define w-weird."

"Well, frankly, he's been a grump. He hardly spends time with me, or even around me, for that matter. And when he does, he barely tells jokes anymore, and he's constantly complaining about things."

"What kind of things?"

"All kinds of things. Like, he complains about All The Things. Food, clothing, how I look, how I smell," you frowned. "Saying it out loud, it sounds like he's just complaining about me."

"O-okay, but, like, _how_ is he c-complaining?" You gave her a confused look. "L-like, food. W-what does he s-say when he c-complains about f-food?"

"I suggest we get food from someplace, and he refuses and insists we get food from somewhere else, but he'll never tell me where he wants to eat. One place isn't healthy enough, another is _too_ healthy. He doesn't like the way this place smells, and that place has one server with a really bad attitude."

"W-what about clothes?"

"He says things like _'you're wearing too much, you'll overheat,'_ or _'you're hardly wearing anything, you're going to freeze,'_ or even _'that color makes you look sickly'_. He wears the same thing every day! He has no room to talk!"

"H-how you look?"

"Some of it is with the clothes, but he'll always comment about how I have bags under my eyes or how my hair is looking greasy even when I just showered."

"Smell?"

"I smell too sweaty. I smell too much like perfume. I smell too much like nature."

"Hm..." She put her hand to her mouth to look like she was thinking, but you could see the smile she was trying to hide.

"So? You know what's going on, right?"

"I th-think so, but I'm n-not sure. I don't want to s-say something if I'm wr-wrong. I'll t-talk to him about this and l-let you know."

"But it's not something bad, right?" you asked nervously. "He hasn't decided that he just hates me now?"

"No!" she all but shouted. "I'm sure it's n-nothing like that!"

"Alright. I'll head home then."

"S-see you! Be s-safe!"

With that, you were out the door. You knew you were probably overreacting, but you loved being friends with the Skeleton Brothers. Papyrus was so sweet, you loved doting on him as much as he loved doting on you, and you loved curling up and watching comedies with Sans. Not to mention the massive crush you had on the elder brother. You huffed a sigh, got in your car, and drove home. You would let Alphys talk to Sans and pray that this whole situation would work out for the best.

* * *

The next day, you were up bright and early like always. You walked out your front door and locked it behind you. You loved to watch the sunrise as you stretched for your morning run. Once you were finished, you took off. Running along the trails through the woods by your house was always an adventure.

You raced through the trees, listening to the birds sing as you went. You loved nature. You didn't always love to be in it for long periods of time, but you enjoyed these short excursions. You got to see some pretty interesting animals sometimes.

You were a fair way into your run when you yelped as your ankle gave out, and you tumbled to the ground. Had you tripped on a root or something? You couldn't see anything when you looked on the trail behind you, but your ankle was really starting to throb. You pressed on it gently in a few spots as it started to swell.

"And now I have a sprained ankle," you huffed. "Great." You sat thinking for a few minutes, trying to decide whether you should pull out your phone and call someone for help, or just suck it up and try to hobble home.

You were pulled from your thoughts by a loud sound you had never heard in person before. Your eyes snapped up to the large grizzly bear that was far too close for your liking. You knew that bears could be found in this general area with how close you lived to the mountains, but they didn't usually come this close to civilization. Why was it so close? You shut your eyes tight to avoid eye contact and curled up into a ball. That was what you were supposed to do, right? Eye contact was a challenge that would cause the bear to attack and making yourself small made you seem unthreatening. Right? You could hear noises that sounded like the bear moving toward you, but you were too scared to look.

You jumped and whimpered when you felt its breath blow past your face. It was right next to you! You stifled a scream when it let out a loud growl. This thing was going to eat you!

Another growl sounded nearby, causing you to curl up tighter. Was there another bear? Were they going to fight over you? Or maybe they would just eat you together. The bear standing over you growled louder before letting out a roar that sounded a bit farther away. You peeked an eye open to see it standing upright in the most menacing pose it could manage. The other creature snarled and tackled the bear in a blur. You clamped your eyes shut again as you heard the two animals fighting.

Wait.

That blur was blue.

You wracked your brain, but you couldn't think of a single animal in this area that was blue. Maybe it was a white wolf that looked blue? That didn't seem likely.

You hesitantly peeked your eye open again, only to freeze in shock.

A long, skeletal Beast stood on all fours, razor-sharp fangs bared, blue hoodie torn from the short scuffle. It was Sans! Part of you was thrilled to know that he was there and would protect you, but another part was frightened. You always saw the skeleton brothers standing upright, as the only buildings they entered were ones that could readily accommodate their size. This was the first time you had ever seen Sans on all fours. His long tail whipped from side to side, cutting through the nearby vegetation. You flinched when he opened his mouth wide to snarl at the bear. You had never heard such ferocious sounds from him before.

Hell, you'd never heard such ferocious sounds from anything.

You had always known what they were capable of, but this was the first time you had seen anything like this. For the first time, you could understand why so many people were so scared of Beast Monsters.

The bear lunged at Sans and the fight began. They swiped and snapped at each other with so much ferocity as they snarled and wrestled. You couldn't tear your eyes away from them, wincing whenever one of them got a good hit in against the other. It felt like an eternity, watching fangs and claws flash in the early morning sunlight that filtered through the trees.

Finally, Sans got his mouth around the back of the bear's neck and bit down hard, crunching through bone and snuffing out the bear's life. He dropped the animal and stared at it on the ground for a moment before looking up. He froze when he locked eyes with you.

"S-Sans?" you whispered, and his whole demeanor changed. He lowered himself so he was practically crawling on the ground, head low and tail wrapped around him. He looked like a kicked puppy. You had a hard time reconciling this sweetheart with the animal who just snapped a grizzly's neck like a twig. If he wasn't still covered in scuffs and bits of the bear's blood, you would think he was a totally different person.

He let out a soft whimper when you didn’t say anything else and hesitantly took a step forward, still on all fours.

"A-are you alright?" You winced when your voice cracked. You asked because you really were worried about him being hurt, but part of you wondered if he could even speak when he was like that. Did he still think coherently when he acted so animalistic?

"fine," he said softly. "you hurt?"

"Twisted my ankle. Pretty sure it's sprained." He nodded.

"can...can i carry you home?" He looked so scared that you would say no. You almost did. Instead, you closed your eyes so you could work through this internally.

Sans was a Beast Monster. You had always known this.

Beast Monsters were capable of being incredibly ferocious. You had always known this, too.

Sans had never acted aggressively toward or around you before. He put on a bit of a show when you first met him and his brother and again when he first welcomed you into his den. But that was Alpha posturing, nothing more.

Sans was only violent just now because he was protecting you. You were about to be attacked by a bear, and Sans fought it off.

Sans saved your life.

You let out a breath you didn't realize you were holding and opened your eyes to look at Sans. He was in the exact same position as before, still looking scared that you would run away screaming.

"I would really appreciate that," you said as clearly as you could. Sans seemed to perk up a bit now that you didn't look quite so frightened anymore. He stood upright but still stayed crouched as he slowly approached you. He gently picked you up and cradled you to his sternum.

He didn't say a word the whole way back to your house, though you could feel a gentle rumbling in his chest. It almost sounded like he was purring. You wanted to break the silence, but you didn't know what to say. Should you make a joke to ease the tension? That might just make the tension worse. Should you thank him for saving your life? Maybe you shouldn't bring up such a heavy topic just yet. Should you make a comment about the weather? No, just no. What could you say? Hell, he wouldn’t even make eye contact with you!

All too soon, Sans walked up to your front door. He stood there, shifting from foot to foot like he didn't know what to do. He still avoided eye contact.

"do, uh, do you want me to just open the door for you?" Sans was always so confident that it was a little unnerving to see him like this. Was he really so upset about scaring you? You supposed it made sense. You wouldn't want your friends to be scared of you either. Well, you would make sure Sans knew that everything was alright.

"Actually, would you mind helping me? I need to wrap my ankle and-" He didn't let you finish. He brought his tail around to slip the elastic band holding your house key from your wrist and quickly unlocked the door. While your house wasn't built with Beasts in mind, it was fairly old with rather tall ceilings. Sans stooped through the door but had plenty of room to stand at his full height.

He still hunched over.

He quickly moved to your couch and gently set you down. Before you could even get comfortable, he disappeared, only to reappear a few seconds later with his arms full of pillows and blankets. He quickly situated you with several pillows behind you and two more to elevate your leg. Then he laid the blankets on you one by one until you told him you had enough.

"so, um, how do we wrap your leg?"

"There's a bandage roll in the bathroom closet. Could you-" Once again, he was moving before you could finish. A second later, he was back with the bandage. You started to wrap your ankle and instructed him on how to do it so it wasn't too tight. He was quick to finish the wrapping.

"is there anything else you need? food? water?" He almost sounded desperate as he crouched down beside you.

"I'll be fine, Sans. I just need my phone so I can call out of work."

"right." He nodded before racing off to get you your phone.

"Sans," you called with a smile, "I have it right here. It's in my pocket." He slipped back into the room looking a little sheepish.

"uh, right." He rubbed the back of his skull, moving back to your side to help you sit upright.

“Thank you, Sans,” you said as you pulled out your phone and punched in your boss’s number. “You really didn't have to do all this.”

"oh." His shoulders dropped in...disappointment? "right. i'll just go, then." He turned to the front door, leaving you utterly confused.

"You don't have to leave," you insisted.

"no point in staying," he said quietly. "you don't need me."

"I don't need your help right this second, but I certainly appreciate it." He paused at that. "And I definitely needed your help in the woods."

"it was nothing," he mumbled, though he turned back to face you.

"It was not nothing, Sans. You saved my life. I may not need your help every second of the day, but I'm always happy for your company."

"so you don't mind if i stay?"

"Of course not! I may not understand everything about Beasts, but I know that your Alpha instincts must be going crazy with me being hurt." He chuckled in agreement before finally giving in and walking back over to the couch and curling up on the floor in front of it. You quickly made the call to your boss telling her you were hurt and wouldn't be able to make it into work that day and then settled down with Sans still close by. You sat in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company until Sans spoke up.

"are you afraid of me?" The question was so quiet you barely heard it.

"No." Your tone left no room for argument. "I was scared in the woods because I was almost attacked by a bear and because I had never seen you like that. I was already an emotional mess and seeing that didn't help. But I know you, Sans. I know you would never hurt me. I know that you acted like that to protect me. I can't say that I'd ever like to see you all snarly and ferocious again, but that's because I'd rather not be in a situation that called for it. I don't want to see you like that anymore than I want to be attacked by a bear."

"so i'm like a bear?"

"No, you're not like a bear. I wouldn't let a bear into my home, I wouldn't let a bear help treat my injury, and I certainly wouldn't hug a bear." You reached down and wrapped your arm around what you could reach of him and hugged. "So no, I am not afraid of you. I trust you, Sans."

"i'm glad."

"How did you even know I was in trouble?" you wondered aloud as you yawned. The adrenaline rush was finally over and left you exhausted.

"i always monitor your runs."

"You watch me when I run? Not gonna lie, Sans, that's kinda creepy." There was no hostility or venom in your voice, partly due to your exhaustion and partly because you meant it when you told Sans that you trusted him.

"i don't watch you," he huffed. "i monitor you. i stay in the woods near the trail you always take and keep track of all the sounds and smells. i started heading toward you when i heard you fall, so i was able to get there pretty quickly once i caught the bear's scent."

"And why do you monitor my morning runs?" You caught sight of a blue glow on his cheekbones.

"to make sure you're safe."

"Aw," you cooed tiredly. "That's so sweet." You switched to a lighter topic, and the two of you talked until you finally fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

You were startled awake by a deep growl. You sat up and looked around as fear began to creep in. Sans was standing nearby, back down on all fours, growling at the people standing in your open front door.

"Sans," you heard Undyne say in her 'captain' voice. "Let. Us. In. NOW." Sans snarled in response.

"Quit being so stubborn!" Leah's voice came next. "She's my best friend! Let us in!" You could hear Alphys stutter something as well, but you couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Sans?" He tensed up at the sound of your voice, growl cutting off. He didn't turn away from the front door, though.

"Hey!" Undyne shouted. "You alright in there? Sans won't let us in!"

"I'm fine. Well, sort of. I sprained my ankle. What are you all doing here?"

"You were supposed to meet me for breakfast," Leah called.

"Shoot! I forgot! I'm sorry, this morning was a little crazy! Sans, it's alright let them in." He didn't move. "Sans, it's just Leah, Alphys, and Undyne." He didn't even twitch.

"W-what h-happened?" Alphys's voice was barely loud enough to hear.

"I sprained my ankle on my run this morning. Sans brought me home and helped me take care of it."

"What else?" Undyne demanded.

"What-?"

"He wouldn't be acting like this if you just sprained your ankle. I might not be a Beast, but I'm an alpha too and I have plenty of experience handling Beasts of all orientations. Something else had to happen for him to not be backing down."

"I...may have been attacked by a bear."

"WHAT?!" they all shouted, pulling another warning growl from Sans.

"I'm fine! It didn't touch me! I sprained my ankle and it found me. It got closer than I would have liked, but Sans showed up and saved me."

"Sans fought off a bear?!"

"No wonder he's acting like this," Undyne muttered barely loud enough for you to hear. "We're going to close the door and wait out here. You try to calm him down, and let us know when we can come in."

"What? But-"

"Relax, nerd! You can handle this." With that, the door closed. Sans still growled at it.

"Sans?"

No response.

"Sans, they're outside, and they're not coming in."

Still nothing.

"Sans, please look at me?"

That seemed to get a reaction. He stopped growling and slowly turned away from the door to face you.

"Can you help me?" You held out your arms to him, and he quickly came over. He helped you sit upright and rearranged your pillows and blankets so you were comfortable with your leg still elevated. It unnerved you a bit that he was still crouched down on all fours and refused to make eye contact. You tried to think of what you could say to figure out what was going on and how to keep him from tearing your friends apart, but you were drawing a blank. What could you say? Instead, you decided to poke him. One quick but gentle tap to his forehead had him blinking in confusion. Then you poked his cheek, then his nasal cavity, and he finally made eye contact looking, utterly bewildered.

"There you are," you giggled. "Are you alright?"

"fine," he muttered and looked away again.

"No," you whined. "If you keep looking away, I'm going to keep poking you!" You poked him in the shoulder to emphasize your point. He ducked his head and looked back up at you.

"sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for. I'm just worried about you. You don't usually act like this."

"i know, i just..." he looked down, only to snap his eyes back up to your face like he was afraid you would get upset if he looked away. "i want to make sure you're safe."

"Of course I'm safe. You're right here. I know you'll protect me." Tension seemed to leave him at your words, but his eyes darted to your ankle.

"but i didn't."

"I sprained my ankle because I wasn't watching where I was going. You protected me from the bear, but I doubt there is anyone alive powerful enough to protect me from my own obliviousness and klutzy nature."

"i guess," he chuckled weakly.

"And you know that those three," you jerked your thumb towards the front door, "are friends. They won't hurt me."

"i know."

"Then why were you keeping them out?"

"you're hurt."

"Okay...? They'll help take care of me." He opened his mouth, only to close it again. "Sans, I’m not angry or anything, I'm just confused. Start at the beginning."

"leah showed up after you missed breakfast with her. she said she called you, but i turned your phone off after you fell asleep. didn't want it waking you up. i told her you were hurt, and she tried to come in. i stopped her, we argued, then she called alphys and undyne. when they got here, undyne tried to force her way in by being more alpha than me."

"Yeah, I remember her saying something about how she's an alpha, too. I thought only Beasts had ABO orientations."

"no, monsters have them too, just not as strong. undyne has alpha tendencies. she was able to learn how to hone them when she became the captain of the royal guard so she can act like an alpha to beasts. it's easier to calm an upset beast when their instincts are telling them to listen and obey. this was the first time she ever used it on me. didn't work too well." He sat up a little straighter, sounding more than a little smug about that. "then you woke up."

"So, are you going to let them inside now?" He let out a soft but clearly unhappy growl. "Sans, they're not going to hurt me."

"i know, it's just..."

"Just...?"

"you're hurt. you need to stay in your nest and heal."

"My nest?" You looked down at the blankets and pillows piled around you on the couch. Huh. That did look pretty nest like. Sans blushed.

"not- i mean- you know what i mean."

"I'll stay in my nest," you told him with a gentle but teasing smile. "I don't have to get up if they come in."

"it's dangerous to let too many people into your den, er, home when you’re healing." His voice started to sound strained and a little growly, and you could see his tail twitching behind him.

"Sans, I'm trying to understand, but I'm still a little confused. I'm not a Beast. I'm not sure all of this applies to me. I mean, company usually helps me feel better when I'm sick or hurt."

"not a beast," he repeated quietly. "right. not a beast. i'll go let them in." He took one step towards the door then paused, forcing himself to stand upright and made his way to the door. Had you said the wrong thing? You just couldn't figure out what was going on with Sans. Why was he suddenly being so attentive when he had been all but ignoring you recently? Was he feeling guilty because you were hurt?

Sans slunk back into the room and curled up on the floor next to the couch as the three girls followed him in. You looked up at them, confused by their expressions. Leah was smirking at you, looking far too pleased with herself, Alphys had stars in her eyes, and Undyne had a hand clamped over her mouth in a failed effort to muffle her snickers.

Alphys snapped out of it first.

"U-um, d-do you mind if I t-take a l-look at her ankle?" she asked Sans. Why did she ask him? It's your ankle. Sans just nodded. Undyne finally managed to control herself as Alphys walked over to your ankle and began looking it over.

"So," said Undyne, "how exactly did you get attacked by a bear?"

"I told you," you huffed, "I was on my morning run and I tripped and sprained my ankle."

"Come on, nerd! I want details!"

"Fine. So I'm sitting there on the ground, trying to decide if I should call for help or if I can get home on my own when I hear this loud growl. I look up, and there's a grizzly standing ten feet away from me. I didn't want to risk provoking it, so I shut my eyes and curled into a ball. It got closer and sniffed at me, and that's when Sans showed up. He took it down before it could hurt me."

"Aw, how sweet!" Leah still sounded smug about something, and it was starting to bug you.

You were about to give her a very snarky reply, but you were cut off by a loud rumbling growl. Undyne whipped her head around to look at Sans, ready to stop whatever had upset him. Sans just looked confused as Leah laughed at your embarrassment. You blushed and clutched at your stomach.

"How l-long has it b-been since you l-last ate?" Alphys asked.

"Um, I had a late lunch yesterday afternoon. I was going to meet Leah for breakfast after my run, and I was so tired after everything when Sans brought me back that I guess I just forgot." Alphys shook her head in exasperation and began pouring healing magic into your ankle.

"Why don't you get her something to eat?" Undyne suggested, and Sans fidgeted.

"can't just leave her here."

"Don't worry about it! We'll all stay and keep an eye on her till you get back! That sound good to you?"

"yeah, sure," he grumbled, then turned to you. "what do you want to eat?"

"I don't care," you shrugged.

"so what should i get you?" Sans asked with a frown.

"Something edible? I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult. I just don't feel like eating. I know I need to so I will, but I don't really feel like anything in particular."

"you have to pick something," he demanded.

"Sans, I really don't care. And hey, you haven't eaten either, have you? Why don't you just grab something you like and get some for me, too." He looked like he wanted to argue, but he snapped his jaw shut.

"fine," he muttered. "i'll be back." He turned and left through your front door, leaving you to wonder over his strange attitude.

"I can't b-believe it!" Alphys's squeal broke you from your thoughts.

"Believe what?" you asked.

"I can't believe it either," complained Leah. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Tell you what?"

"Cause she didn't know!" Undyne responded with a shit-eating grin. "Sans hasn't said anything to you, has he?"

"About what??" You were starting to get annoyed.

"R-remember what you were asking m-me about y-yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"W-well, this is it. Th-this is why Sans has b-been acting weird."

"Yeah, that tells me nothing," you frowned.

"He's courting you!" Leah said like she was talking to a toddler.

"No, he isn't."

"Yes, he is!"

"He really isn't."

"He really is!"

"No, he isn't! He hasn't shown any courting behavior!"

"How do you know what Beast courting behavior looks like?" Undyne asked.

"Because I did research! I started looking into Beast behaviors when Sans started acting weird. I couldn't find anything in any known records that matched."

"And you looked into courtship behavior because...?" Leah asked.

"Because I have a massive crush on him," you groaned with a blush. "You know that."

"Yup! But I just wanted to remind you." Like you could forget!

"We didn't! This is awesome!" Undyne crowed.

"W-wait, d-does Sans know that you kn-know?"

"I don't know. I mean, I haven't said anything, but-"

"Then that's it!" Leah shouted. "Think about it! If some human guy started getting all possessive and controlling, would you be okay with that? Like if he started insisting that you only eat the food he brings you? Or forced you to stay in your house? Or made you wear his clothes so you smell like him? Of course not! You’d kick his ass. But if Sans did that kind of stuff?"

"That's different." You blushed. "Beasts don't stay possessive and controlling. They do all that to show that they can care for and protect their mate. Plus, it's an instinctual drive. They can't just turn it off."

"But if he doesn't know that you know," Undyne groaned, "then he probably thinks you wouldn't be okay with normal courtship behavior."

"H-he's trying to c-court you in a human way!"

"But his instincts are telling him to do things one way and his brain is telling him to do things differently!" Leah looked so damn smug.

"Th-that's why he k-kept talking about y-your clothes and w-what you eat. He's trying t-to take care of you in a more h-human way." You sat there for a moment, just taking all of that in.

"You're wrong," you whispered. "You have to be. He's been avoiding me."

"Probably because he doesn't want to seem overbearing," Undyne shrugged.

"Hah! Over _bear_ ing!" Leah chuckled. "Sans would like that one."

"And what if you're wrong?!" They all jumped at your outburst, surprised to find tears in your eyes. "What if he isn't trying to- to-" You took a deep breath, forcing yourself to calm down. "What if he was avoiding me and complaining because he doesn't want to be around me? What if he's only taking care of me now because he feels guilty or something? What if he's only trying to keep me safe because he feels like it's somehow his responsibility?" You sniffled as the tears rolled down your cheeks. The three of them stood in silence for a few long moments.

"Hey." Undyne's voice was the quietest you'd ever heard it. "I trained for years to read Beasts properly, so I know how to treat them and respond to them without antagonizing anyone's nature. I've also known Sans for years. If there's one thing that I can say about that Alpha Beast, it's that he's a lazy asshole who can't be bothered to put forth effort for anyone." You let out a watery chuckle. "Except for those he's claimed as pack. Sans will do anything to protect his pack. Papyrus told me that when he was younger, Sans was ferocious about his safety. It wasn't until Papyrus grew up to be an Alpha himself that Sans finally eased up.

"Sans wouldn't be watching out for you if he didn't genuinely care about you. He certainly wouldn't be doting on you like this if you weren't a part of his pack. If you were just a friend to look out for, he would have taken you to the hospital or something. He would NOT have made you a nest and then stayed to personally guard you against any and all potential threats."

She paused to let you absorb all of that.

"Maybe we are wrong," she continued. "Maybe he's not trying to court you. But I'm willing to bet my other eye that he is. He's gotta care about you a whole lot if he could tell you were in danger and got to you that quickly."

"He was already nearby," you told them. "He said he monitors my morning runs. Sits in the woods nearby and stays alert for trouble."

"And you think he's NOT courting you?! What part of _'Sans is a lazy asshole'_ did you not get?! Do you really think he would be up that early to watch out for someone he's not completely crazy about?!" Leah and Alphys giggled at Undyne's outburst. It even startled a chuckle out of you.

"I guess I'm just scared," you admitted. "I don't want to make a move or something and lose my friend."

"B-but you don't have to make a m-move. Just be r-receptive to him." You looked up at Alphys as she finished healing your ankle. It wasn't back to 100%, but it felt a lot better. "Whether he's t-trying to court you as a h-human would, or he's j-just taking care of his p-pack, he's s-still an Alpha Beast. Let him t-take care of you and sh-show him that you t-trust him."

"You do trust him, don't you?" Leah asked.

"Of course I do. And I told him so when you guys were waiting outside."

"Good."

"Alphys is right. Alphas are driven to be in control when they're caring for someone. I doubt he would respond well to any move you make one way or the other."

"So I'm just supposed to lie here like a lump?"

"Think of it more like you're being pampered," Leah shrugged.

"And what if I say something that upsets him?" You frowned. "Again."

"Again?"

"When he first brought me home, I told him that he didn't have to help me, and he almost left." Undyne and Alphys both grimaced. "He only stayed when I explained that just because I don't need his help doesn't mean I don't want his help. I think there were some other things I said that upset him too, but I have no idea what."

"Wait!" Leah shouted. "What if you did the same thing?"

"Say things that upset him?"

"No!" she groaned. "He's trying to court you like a human because you're human. He's making an effort to do things the 'human way'. What if you responded like a Beast?"

"Oh." Your mind began whirling. Would that work? _Could_ that work?

"Huh. That's actually not a bad idea!" Undyne gave Leah a hearty slap on the back, making her wince.

"How would I do that?" you asked the monsters. Before they could answer, there was a loud thump against your front door.

"I'll get it," Undyne called as she darted to the door. You watched her swing it open, but you couldn't see anything past her tall frame. There was a beat of silence before Undyne began cackling, causing the three of you to jump. You grabbed Leah and used her as a crutch to pull yourself up so you could limp along with them to see what was going on. When you reached the door and shoved the still laughing Undyne out of the way, you saw what had set her off. Sans stood there with a blue glow on his cheekbones and a large buck in his hands.

"i told you to pick something. you said you didn't care."

"You caught a deer?" you asked. That thing was huge!

"would've brought the bear, but it's not fresh, and i'm sure the scavengers got to it by now." You just stood there, leaning on Leah, not quite sure what to say.

This was definitely a Beast thing to do. It was pretty common for Beasts to feed their pack. Omegas prepare and serve, Betas share, and Alphas provide. But catching something just for you? From what you read, Alphas tried to prove themselves to their prospective mates by hunting big prey to show they can provide. Was this a courting move? Maybe your friends were right…

"look," Sans growled. "just pick something. pizza? burgers? what do you want?"

"No!" You finally snapped out of your daze. If this was a courting move, you had to respond properly. If he was making an effort to do things the 'human way' for you, you could accept anything he did the 'beast way'.

"This is fine!" you told him. "It's great! I've had venison before. I really like it." He looked skeptical. "Really, Sans. I told you I didn't care what you brought me and I don't." That sounded bad. Reword it! "I mean, I just asked for food, and you brought me a deer! A really big deer." He seemed to stand a little straighter. Good! He knew you approved of and accepted his gift! "I just...I mean, I don't know how to go about skinning or gutting it."

"Don't worry," Undyne wheezed as she finally calmed down. "I can help with that. You should be resting, anyway. You go back inside, and I'll help this dork with his catch"

"Alright," you agreed. "But only prep enough for me, the rest is for Sans."

"but-"

"No buts! I haven't forgotten that you need to eat, too. You've wrestled and killed a bear, been taking care of me all day, and caught a rather large buck with a very impressive rack of antlers. I'll eat and rest, but you have to do the same!" He ducked his head with a nod before following Undyne around the house to the backyard, deer in tow. You frowned but hobbled back to your couch/nest with Alphys and Leah.

"Did, um, did I say something wrong?" you asked.

"Not at all!" Alphys cheered.

"But the way he left? I didn't upset him, did I?"

"No! You're sharing food with him! Food he caught for you!" The only time Alphys didn't stutter was when she was excited. You tried to share it, but you were still nervous.

"Come on!" Leah joined in. "He brought you a deer! That is totally courtship behavior!"

"Maybe..."

"T-trust me, it is! If he just saw you as p-pack, he would have b-brought something else. He wants your approval!"

"So I wasn't crossing a line by demanding that he eat?"

"Nope!" Alphys practically squealed.

"Think about it," Leah added. "You accepted the food he brought you and insisted he share it with you. Not to mention you complimented his skill as a hunter by commenting on the antlers."

"I'm sorry, did you not see the size of them? A rack like that deserves to be hung on the wall!"

"Oh! B-be sure to tell him that!"

"Alphys," you said. Her smile dropped at your serious tone. "I know your mind is going wild because you are shipping me and Sans pretty hard, but please be honest. Do you really think Sans is doing all this because he likes me? Do you really think he's trying to court me?" Her mouth settled into a grim line of determination.

"I do," she said in the clearest, most confident voice you had ever heard. "I s-suspected it when you came to talk to me y-yesterday. After seeing all of this," she waved her hand at you and your nest. "He made you a n-nest, stayed by your side, guarded your h-home, and brought you food. He hunted for you! Sans r-really is incredibly l-lazy. He wouldn't have h-hunted for you if he didn't want to impress you."

"Yeah," Leah agreed. "He probably would've gotten Grillby's or something."

"W-what about you?"

"Me?"

"How do you f-feel about all of th-this? I know you l-like him but remember to b-be honest."

"I-" You paused, really thinking about things for the first time. How did you feel about all of this?

"Hey." You all looked up to see Undyne poking her head in from the kitchen. "Food is ready. I told Sans to leave it outside. He doesn't want to cook his, and I didn't think you'd want to deal with the mess from him eating that deer inside."

"Thanks, Undyne," you smiled. The fish lady smiled back as she scooped you up and carried you through the kitchen and out the back door to an anxiously waiting skeleton Beast. Most of the deer was still in one piece, but Sans was holding what looked like a giant turkey leg. Leah and Alphys joined you all outside a moment later carrying a chair which Undyne set you down on.

"here," Sans huffed as he handed you the chunk of meat. "wasn't sure how humans eat it, so undyne searched on her phone. cooked it with fire magic, so it should help you heal. will one leg be enough for you? i can cook more if-"

"Sans, this is plenty!" you assured him. "This deer is huge. I'm not sure I'll be able to eat this whole leg." You were not exaggerating. "Smells good, though." You leaned down and took a big bite.

The taste was indescribable.

"does it taste bad? i didn't use any seasoning or anything. just used magic. if the flavor is wrong i can cook more. i don't know which seasonings you like, but-"

"Sans," you interrupted once you finally swallowed the bite. "Kindly shut up and let me enjoy this." You then proceeded to utterly devour as much of that delicious leg as you could. As you ate, you noticed Sans start in on his portion. That was a slightly disturbing sight, so you decided to focus on your own meal while he ate his. You made it about halfway through when your stomach finally called it quits.

"You know I love you like a sister," Leah said, "but watching you eat that was kind of terrifying."

"That was amazing," you groaned in satisfaction. "I can't eat another bite. You want the rest of mine?" you offered the leg out to Sans. He gratefully accepted and scarfed it down in two quick bites.

"Well," Undyne all but shouted. "Now that this has all been sorted, we should probably get going." You waved goodbye to your friends as they went on their way and Sans carried you and the chair back into the house. Sans made sure you were settled back into your nest, carefully arranging the pillows and blankets for maximum comfort.

"so," he said as he scratched the back of his skull. "i'm, uh, glad you're feeling better. i'm sorry about all the craziness. i can leave now since you're doing alright."

"Actually," you said, remembering something from your research, "I'd really like it if you stayed. You've done so much for me, I'm sure my ankle will be healed up in no time. Why don't you stay here and rest?"

"you sure?" He looked hesitant and more than a little excited.

"Positive. We can even move the nest to the floor so you have somewhere soft to sleep."

"but what about you?"

"The couch is soft enough. Or I could join you?" You tried to sound confident, but you were starting to get nervous. You trusted Alphys, but your insecurities were starting to whisper in your ear. Sans either didn't notice or didn't care because he got literal stars in his eyes as he scooped you up along with all the bedding. You giggled madly as he situated you in the new nest on the floor. It wasn't quite as comfortable as the couch, but then Sans curled up around you in a big ball of warmth and comfort. You felt the end of his tail wrap around your good ankle as you slipped into the deepest, most restful sleep you'd ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you guys liked it! Please remember to leave a comment or critique. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't.
> 
> I do realize that we didn't get full closure on this story, but it was getting long and I was starting to go in circles with it. I will likely be posting the next part of it soon for a bit more closure.  
> UPDATE: There will NOT be a sequel chapter posted in this story. This has gained a mind of its own and will be posted with the rest of the chapters to come under "Lost in Translation". If you liked this, then be sure to check out Cinnabun's companion fic "The Big Bad Woods"!
> 
> UPDATED UPDATE: This has been edited with the help of my new Chibi Beta ariinya14.


	5. Hunger Pains (HT!SansxReader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You don't mind being curvy, you just want to be healthy. So why is this such a problem?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! The winner of the poll by a landslide is *drumroll* Horrortale!Sans!!!

You glared down at the number on the scale. You had worked so hard this week! You went to the gym every day and you ate super carefully! How did you _gain_ weight?!

You heaved a sigh before trudging your way through the rest of your morning routine. As much as you wanted to curl up on the couch and mope, you had places to go and people to see.

You weren't fat, but you were more than a little curvy. You didn't think you looked too bad, so you weren't overly concerned. But, your BMI said you were well into the official "overweight" range and that just wasn't healthy. You had no intention of becoming some kind of health nut, but you acknowledged that it was probably for the best that you eat more fruits and veggies and cut out some of the grease in your diet. That was a good first step and it helped, but you were still in the "unhealthy" range. That was when you joined a gym.

It wasn't too bad, either. You weren't looking to bulk up or anything, so you stayed away from the free weights and most of the more complicated machines. You worked up a decent sweat from the treadmill, elliptical, and exercise bike. You had been feeling great! You were losing weight at a safe and steady rate, slowly inching towards a healthy BMI range.

The last few weeks were a different story. You were beginning to feel lethargic halfway through your workouts to the point that you couldn't bring yourself to keep going, your normal portions of fruits and veggies left you hungry and craving junk food, and you were starting to feel bloated all the time.

"Maybe you're pregnant," your best friend joked after your venting session.

"This is serious, Maddy! What's wrong with me?"

"Hey, you could totally be pregnant! I mean, wait, can monsters and humans have kids?"

"It doesn't matter because I'm not sleeping with a monster," you groused.

"So you and Sans-?"

"We're not that serious yet! Sans doesn't feel comfortable rushing into anything, and I don't feel comfortable making him uncomfortable."

"Is it because of his head."

"Maddy!"

"What?"

"Do you ever think before you speak?"

"Hey, this is a legitimate question! I know that head wound of his causes some problems with his mind."

"You make it sound like he's some kind of psychopath. He has memory problems and his magic isn't as strong or as stable as it used to be, but he's not some unhinged lunatic."

"I'm not saying he is. I'm just asking if that has anything to do with him wanting to move slowly."

"Maybe? He doesn't like talking about it or any of his time underground, and I don't want to push him. From what little Pap has told me, it was hell."

"I get that but make sure you're being honest with him. If you want more out of the relationship, say something."

"I will," you smiled. "I really am happy with how things are going. There's not a lot of blatantly romantic things in our relationship, but he shows me how much he cares about me."

"How so?"

"He's always fussing over me, making sure I'm warm enough when it's cold or cool enough when it's hot. He carries around extra water bottles for me to make sure I stay hydrated, and he's meticulous about making sure I eat enough."

"Do you think that's affecting the whole weight issue?"

"It shouldn't. Yeah, I might eat bigger portions when I hang with Sans, but it's all healthy food. I have almost completely cut junk food out of my life."

"Then I don't know what to tell you. Maybe cut out the rest of the junk food? Just make sure you don't go overboard. I know you want to lose weight, but you still need to eat at least some calories each day."

"I know," you insisted. "I don't hate how I look, I'm fine being curvy. I want to get healthy more than anything."

"I just don't want to see you become anorexic."

"I love food way too much to just stop eating. Besides, did you not hear what I just said about Sans? Like he would ever let me go a whole day without eating _something_." You frowned. "And I wouldn't want to go a day without eating. I feel like that's really disrespectful to him and Papyrus after they suffered through a _famine_."

"True. But don't go becoming bulimic either."

"I won't! I hate throwing up. I hardly ever drink alcohol because of how much I hate to throw up."

"I know, I know, but it's my job as your best friend to say these things."

The conversation drifted to lighter topics for a while before coming to an end. You and Maddy said your goodbyes and parted ways. It was your day off and you were glad you took the morning to relax with Maddy, but you still had errands to run. You pulled out your to-do list and got to work.

* * *

A few hours later, you walked up to your apartment and somehow managed to juggle all of your bags of groceries while you unlocked the door. You slipped in and kicked the door shut behind you, somehow managing to twist the lock. You huffed as you finally made it to the kitchen table where you dropped your bags. You took your time going through your pantry and fridge, taking out anything that was even remotely unhealthy and replacing it with the fruits and veggies you bought.

You weren't going to throw anything out, not with Sans and Papyrus as friends. Throwing away perfectly good food was just not an option. Instead, you decided to pack it up and take it to them. They would be able to eat it after infusing a little magic and they would certainly appreciate having more food in their house. Even without the threat of going hungry, they still tended to stockpile food.

You took your time going through your kitchen, lamenting the tasty snacks you wouldn't get to enjoy. You were just about to begin packing it all up when you heard someone knocking at your door.

"Who's there?" you called.

"mustache," came Sans's muffled voice.

"Mustache who?" you asked with a smile as you moved to the door.

"i mustache you a question, but i'll shave it for later." You giggled at the punchline, opening the door for your boyfriend.

"Hey, good timing. I was actually just about to head over to your place."

"oh?"

"Yeah, I have food for you guys." He frowned.

"you bought food for us?"

"Not exactly. I'm trying to watch my weight, so I bought a bunch of healthy food. Problem is, if I have any junk food in the house I _will_ eat it. But it's still perfectly good food, so I figured I'd ask you guys if you wanted it."

"no." You blinked at his adamant response.

"What?"

"no. we don't want your food," he growled.

"But I don't want it."

"you have to eat." He was starting to sound frustrated.

"I am eating, Sans. I'm just swapping one food for another."

"why?" He seemed genuinely confused, but still a little frustrated.

"Because," you sighed, "I'm trying to lose weight." This was the first you had told him about it. You didn't want to worry him, and you knew he would try to learn about human nutrition. But Maddy had a point. That head wound of his often made it difficult for him to remember details about things. You didn't want him to become frustrated or overwhelmed trying to memorize human nutritional facts.

You expected him to start asking questions about what made some foods healthier than others.

You did not expect his crimson eyelight to go out.

"lose weight?" he asked slowly. You were used to seeing his right eye socket dark, but seeing both sockets empty sent a chill down your spine.

"Yes. I'm trying to be healthier."

"how is losing weight healthy?" The growling was back, but so was his eyelight. Was it not possible for monsters to be overweight? Or perhaps it had more to do with the famine?

"Um, well, when humans eat too much of certain foods, we gain fat. Too much fat is unhealthy."

"no, it's not."

"What?"

"no, it's not. that's a lie."

"It's really not, Sans. I mean it is. I mean-" you huffed. "I mean, it's not a lie. Too much fat is unhealthy. There are all sorts of medical problems that come from eating too much of the wrong foods."

"you can't eat too much!"

"You really can. Well, maybe not _you_. I don't know how it works for monsters, but-"

 **"N O ."**  You froze. His eyelight went out again, making his threatening growl all the more terrifying. You had to remind yourself that Sans cares about you. He just didn't understand.

"Sans, please calm down," you said slowly and softly. "I'm sorry I upset you." He clamped his sockets shut and took a few deep breaths. When he blinked his sockets open, you could see his eyelight was back. He was still visibly agitated, but he was noticeably calmer.

"sorry," he mumbled.

"It's alright, I know you’re just looking out for me."

"yeah, i am," he groused. "that's why i'm not letting you be anorexic."

"What? How do you even-"

"i saw you were losing weight. i tried feeding you more, but you kept losing weight. i looked it up on the internet. found a bunch of websites about it."

"Sans, I appreciate that, but I'm not anorexic."

"yes, you are. you're just in denial."

"I promise you that I am eating plenty!"

"then why are you losing weight?!"

"Because it's unhealthy-"

"no, it's not!" Sans was starting to sound less angry and more.........scared. His hand crept up to his face and hooked into his empty eye socket, tugging sharply.

"Hey," you said softly, reaching up to put your hand on his. "Calm down. I think we should talk this out. I promise I'm eating enough. Just let me explain." He still looked a little panicky, but he took a few deep breaths. You led him to sit down at the table, you sitting opposite, and waited while he settled down a bit. 

"right. so. less food is healthy."

"Not less food, exactly. Humans are kind of complicated. You know how we have all these squishy organs on the inside?" He shuddered and nodded. "Well, each of those organs is like a machine part. You need to be sure to take care of each part so that the whole machine keeps working. If a part breaks..."

"then the whole machine breaks. so why does that mean eating less? wouldn't more food mean more energy to keep everything working right?"

"Human food doesn't just turn into energy right away like monster food." You opened your mouth to continue, but you weren't sure exactly how to explain it, and Sans was looking even more confused. You noticed his right hand twitch like it wanted to start pulling on his eye socket again. "Hold on for a sec," you muttered before jumping up and rushing to get your laptop. You sat down next to him so you could both see the screen and pulled up a bunch of websites on nutrition. 

It took some time for the two of you to go through things so Sans could understand the differences between sugars and fats and the fact that there were good and bad of each. You talked about calories, carbs, calcium, protein, sodium, and the many different vitamins. Then you started in on all of the potential medical problems from an unhealthy diet. The idea of clogged arteries and heart attacks scared him, but not nearly as much as diabetes. It took a few hours for you to get through it all, and your head was buzzing.

"i'll never be able to remember all this," Sans frowned.

"Don't worry about it. I can barely remember even half of it. I'm constantly checking my phone whenever I go grocery shopping. We can write down the important bits in a little notebook if that would make you feel better. That way you can have a little pocket reference."

"sounds good." He stared intently at the table for a few long moments, no doubt processing all the new information. You knew he was smart, like scientist smart, but with his damaged memory, facts could leak out of his mind. It was no surprise that he often became frustrated. "so you're still eating, you're just eating fruits and veggies."

"Yup. I'm eating meat to make sure I get enough protein, though."

"but you were eating less too." He locked eyes with you, daring you to contradict him.

"Yes, I am eating smaller portions during meals. But I'm also trying to have healthy snacks through the day. Remember what we read about the metabolism? Eating more frequently speeds up my metabolism. I'm still eating the same amount each day, it's just more spread out."

"ok." He seemed calm enough. You hoped he was understanding. "but you were losing weight."

"Yeah?"

"so why are you trying to get rid of more food? if it was working, then why are you going farther? you don't want to lose too much weight, right?"

"Right. I just want to get to the healthy range. Unfortunately, my new diet stopped working. I've stopped losing weight over the last few weeks. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat or how much I work out. I promise you, Sans, I will  _never_ become anorexic or bulimic or anything, but I won't lie. I can understand why other people do that. It was kind of tempting sometimes. It can be really frustrating when you're eating all the right things and exercising as often as possible and you don't lose a pound. Heck, this week I gained weight." You turned away from the window that you had been staring through wistfully to look him in the eye, only to find his sockets empty. "Sans?"

"shit," he hissed.

"What? What's wrong?"

"you gained weight?" His eyelight snapped back. 

"Yeah," you answered. Had he not been listening?

"are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine."

"what about the last few weeks? have you been sick?"

"Not sick, no. I mean, I haven't been 100%, but-"

"how so?"

"Um, well I've been feeling a little lethargic and bloated," you winced as you answered. Way to sound sexy. 

"and hungry?" 

"Yeah," you blinked in confusion. "I've been really hungry. Been craving pretty much  _every_ food I can't have on this diet."

"shit," he hissed again. 

"Sans, what-?"

"shit. shit.  **shit.** "" He stood up forcefully, knocking his chair over, and began pacing in your kitchen. His hands moved to his face, the left picking at his teeth and the right pulling at his empty socket. 

"Sans!" You lept up to intercept him.

"i'm sorry!" he all but shouted as he turned to you. "i'm sorry! i'm so sorry!"

"For what?"

He didn't say anything. He looked at you before pulling away and walking to the pile of junk food that started this whole thing. Without a word, he slipped his hand into the nearest bag of chips and popped one into his mouth.

"Sans, wait! That's human-" The chip didn't fall through his jaw. "-food. What?" He opened his mouth to show that the chip wasn't hiding there. But that wasn't possible. The only way for a monster like Sans to eat human food was to infuse it with magic first. Your eyes widened in realization.

"i'm sorry," he murmured again.

"You infused my junk food with magic? Is that why I've been craving it so much?"

"not just your junk food," he looked away, rubbing the back of his skull.

"Is there any of my food that you didn't infuse?"

"no."

"Sans, what? Why?!"

"you were losing weight."

"So you spiked all of my food with magic?!"

"you were losing weight! i thought," he winced, "i thought you weren't eating enough."

"Alright," you heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of your nose to stave off the headache you could feel coming on. "I understand you were worried about me. I am grateful you were trying to take care of me, but we don't know the long-term effects of monster food on humans. The magic is probably what made me sick."

"probably," he agreed. "magical effects are based on intent. i wanted you to eat more and gain weight."

"So I felt too tired and sluggish to work out and kept feeling hungry with cravings for junk food."

"i'm sorry."

"I know, Sans. You were trying to help. I didn't say anything about the diet because I didn't want to worry you. I should have said something about it. But you should have come to me too. You can't just start spiking food with magic. If anyone else had eaten any of this and people figured out that you put magic in it, you could get in serious trouble. Like you could be arrested."

"i'm sorry."

"Sans, sweetie, you don't have to keep apologizing. I'm not angry. Just promise me you will talk to me about this kind of stuff first in the future. I'm glad we found out about all of this before I got seriously sick." He winced at that. "Now, what do we do with the food with magic? I don't think it would be healthy for me to keep eating it, and I don't want you and Papyrus to get sick from eating it either."

"we could give it to people who really are anorexic," he suggested with a sheepish grin. You shot him a look, though you were glad to see his humor was returning. "no? alright. pap and i can take it."

"But-"

"we won't get sick. weight doesn't work the same with monsters. there are some foods that are better for us than others based on the core ingredients and the magic used to make it, but eating more for a few days will do more good than harm."

"If you're sure."

"i am."

"Fine. Help me go through all of this so I know what has magic and what doesn't. We'll pack that up so you can take it home, and then I have to go back out to the grocery store."

"can, uh, can i go with you?" His right hand scratched his cheek, though it was clear he wanted to pull at his socket again.

"That sounds like a good idea," you agreed. "We can go over what we read today. You can help me make sure I'm getting everything I need for a healthy diet. Remember, I want to lose some weight, so we'll try to go easy on the fats, sugars, and carbs."

"right." He moved to your computer and copied down everything listed under the 'Ideal Diet' heading before joining you at the fridge.

You weren't happy that Sans had been messing with your diet. In fact, it scared you to think of what could have happened to you if you hadn't found out till later, or at all. You could have gotten seriously sick. And you weren't kidding when you said the long-term effects of magic on humans was unknown. What if it messed with your head? What if it drove you to  _really_ become anorexic or bulimic? The thought terrified you, knowing that _that_ would have damaged your life and hurt both Sans and Papyrus in the process, not to mention all of your friends and family. It wasn't about weight or looks. You really just wanted to be healthy. Fortunately, it all worked out. Now that Sans had a guide for human nutrition, you were sure to end up with the most balanced diet of all time. 

You had never been more thankful for your skeleton boyfriend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave a comment and feel free to request your favorite AU or a prompt. Part 2 of "Lost in Translation" is next.
> 
> Author's Note: This was kind of a venting thing for me. I've been working to lose weight myself, and it's the same situation. I don't mind being curvier than most, but I don't want to have health problems. I won't lie, as much as I love eating and hate puking, sometimes I've been tempted to just not eat or make myself work out until I puke. I know logically that both of those are terrible, but on the bad days, it can be tough. 
> 
> So this is for all those who are struggling with me. Don't let society tell you what you need to look like. It's okay to have things about yourself that you want to improve but remember to take care of yourself. 
> 
> Someone really cares about you.


	6. Ugly Soul (G!SansxReader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are one of the scientists working on researching Souls. You and your team have just finished a new Scanner and you can't wait to test it. What's the worst that can happen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's an idea that I was playing around with since I posted "Jealousy". Wasn't sure which AU to go with at first, but it finally settled on G!Sans. Enjoy!

Today was the day! Ever the morning person, you jumped right out of bed as soon as your alarm went off. You rushed through your daily routine, grabbed your travel mug full the caffeine you didn't really need but never went without, and dashed out the door. You enjoyed the short walk to the lab in the early morning light just like you always did, but today was special. Today was the day you and your team would finally get to test the newest version of the Soul Scanner!

When monsters broke the barrier, Magic and Souls became one of the hottest topics in the Scientific community. You were an undergrad at the time. You knew you wanted to go into a STEM field, but you hadn't decided on a major just yet. When "Soul Study" became an option, you didn't hesitate.

Most of your classes ended up involving a lot of hands-on research and experimentation since what little humans knew of Souls came from religion and what the monsters were willing and able to share. Your university became the headquarters for all Soul and Magic based research thanks to its proximity to Mount Ebott and how willing and eager the faculty was to learn what they could from monsters. That was how you met your new best friends.

As the former Royal Scientist, Alphys was obviously put on the research team along with several other monsters who studied Soul Science. You grew close to all of those monsters, but you grew especially close with a certain skeleton. Sans was something else. Despite his lazy, devil-may-care demeanor, he proved to be rather brilliant and worked in the lab as an engineering consultant. His leather jacket, pierced hands, and facial scars gave him an intimidating appearance, but once he started talking shop everyone could see he was just as nerdy as the rest of you.

The other students tended to get annoyed with the many, _many_ jokes and puns he would tell whenever he visited, but you found them endearing. The day you punned back at him was the day you became best friends. From then on, he would focus the majority of his puns, jokes, and pranks on you, to the great relief of your fellow students. It wasn't long after that the two of you fell in love.

When you finally graduated, you accepted the position that the university offered you to stay on as a researcher. Sans also worked at the university, but he moved to the engineering department. You didn’t mind. You loved working with Alphys and the rest of your team learning everything the monsters could teach you and discovering things even they had never known. Magic fascinated you! You only wished that the ability to use it hadn't been lost to humans generations ago.

A few years and several breakthroughs later, your team was given the funding you needed to start the biggest project of the decade: The Soul Scanner. Alphys had come up with a few devices in the past that scanned Souls and let humans view images of them, and every member of the team had experienced an encounter, but the Soul Scanner would revolutionize the field. Humans and monsters would be able to perform in depth scans of their Souls without the breach of privacy that came with calling out one's Soul.

Sure, Souls came out in encounters, but it wasn't the same. The Soul knows that an encounter could bring danger, so it protects itself by creating a shell around itself. It's not enough to stop truly harmful intent, but it keeps the Soul from being completely vulnerable. This shell also affects how the Soul looks and what can be picked up in scans. The lesser scanners showed that humans aren't limited to a single color, though only a human's primary trait and matching color show on the shell.

Now, the Soul Scanner was finally finished and ready for human/monster testing. If all the tests went well then you and the rest of the team would scan your Souls as well. The Dean and several other influential members of the University Board  would be there to watch as well. You knew all of that was important but you were far more excited about the scans themselves. You knew you had a Kind Soul with shades of blue and yellow throughout, but being human meant that you couldn't pull your own Soul out and it is far too personal and private to ask someone else to pull it out just to look at it. You were excited to finally see your own Soul for the first time!

* * *

 

You moped the whole way home.

The scans from the older machines had nothing on this new one, showing so much _more_. Even the Soul Shell you saw in encounters was so vastly different. You had just wanted to see why monsters viewed Souls with such reverence.

It just wasn't fair.

All of the human and monster test subjects and everyone else on your team had such pretty Souls. A few of them were even beautiful. But yours? Pea soup. What was the good in having 'kindness' as your primary trait if it was just going to be tarnished and muddled? Could your scan have been wrong? Perhaps the scanner hadn't been properly calibrated for your scan? No, it worked just fine for everyone before and after you. You just had an ugly Soul.

What would Sans say? You had been together for a while now, and you knew it was only a matter of time before he asked to show you his Soul and see yours in turn. How could you face him with such a dull ugly Soul? Would he be disgusted? Would he turn away? Or would he pity you and lie that it didn't matter what your Soul looked like? You knew that would be a lie, no matter how convincing he tried to sound. Souls are the very culmination of your being. If your Soul was ugly, then what sort of person were you? Certainly not a kind one, no matter what your core trait was!

Was kindness even really your core trait? Maybe it was something else and the scanners only read it as green because the other colors obscured it so much. No, that wasn't possible. Your Soul was always the same shade of green that every "kind" Soul had in an encounter.

You heaved a sigh as you walked up to your apartment. Time to go drown your sorrows in a tub of cookie dough cream and stew in misery. You went to unlock the door, only to find it was already unlocked. You knew it was locked when you left this morning. You made a fist around your keys so they poked out between your knuckles. You might not be able to hit hard enough to fight off an intruder, but if they grabbed you, you could swipe at their face with your improvised weapon. You slowly opened the door and peeked inside.

"Hey you," Sans called from the couch. You blinked in surprise.

"Hey," you said as you slipped in and locked the door behind you. "What are you doing here?"

"Date night?" He cocked a brow bone. "To celebrate the success that is the Soul Scanner? Alphys said the tests and demonstration all went off without a hitch."

"O-oh! Right! Yeah, everything went great!" Sans seemed to catch your fib and narrowed his sockets at you.

"Is that right?"

"Yep! I guess with all the excitement I just forgot about date night."

"You're so excited that you forgot we're celebrating?"

"I guess so," you said sheepishly. He just gave you a look of disbelief.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Sans. It's fine."

"If there's an 'it' then 'it' isn't fine. Why are you so glum? You've been working on this for years, it's your brain child. Was it something with the Scanner?"

"No, the scanner is fine. It passed all the tests with flying colors, and it wowed the dean and everyone else who came to watch the demo."

"So what's got you so bummed out?"

"It's nothing, I just-" Should you tell him? He would find out when you finally show it to him. Isn't it better he knows now than to surprise him with it in the heat of the moment? "We all scanned our own Souls."

"Okay..." he said slowly, encouraging me to continue.

"We got to see more detailed reports on our Souls and stats as well as the true color, not just the shell color."

"That's great!" he beamed. "I know you were worried it would still only show the shell color."

"Yeah," you sighed. This was it. "It was great. We got to see everyone's true color. Even mine." His smile drooped at your tone. "Turns out my Soul isn't the pretty green we thought it was."

"What? No, you're definitely kindness. I've seen it in encounters."

"It is green, it's just," you looked him dead in the eye, willing him to understand without making you come right out and say it. "It's just not what we thought it was."

"What are you talking about?" he asked clearly confused and growing worried. "Sweetheart, just tell me what's wrong."

"I have an ugly Soul!" you blurted out. Sans blinked at you.

"What?" the worry was gone, leaving just the confusion. "What do you mean you have an ugly Soul?" he chuckled, not taking you seriously.

"I mean my Soul is ugly. I saw the scans. It's this ugly dull shade of green."

"Sweetheart," he cooed, "I'm sure it just looked that way on the screen. Your Soul is beautiful."

"No, it's not, Sans! My Soul is gross!"

"Babe-" he said with a gentle smile.

"It looks like pea soup!" His face scrunched up at that.

"Okay, admittedly, that sounds gross." You huffed at him as he stood and walked over to you. "But that doesn't mean your Soul is ugly. I'm sure it was just something with the scanner."

"Everyone else's Soul scan looked just fine," you muttered.

"Babe," he said seriously, cupping your chin to make you look him in the eye. "Trust me when I say that there is no way you have an ugly Soul. You are the kindest, most thoughtful person I know. An ugly Soul means an ugly personality."

"You haven't seen just how ugly that scan is."

"Fine. Let me prove it to you."

"What? How? The lab is locked down for the day."

"Let me show you how beautiful your Soul is." The look in his eye told you exactly what he meant.

"What?!" He wanted you to show him your Soul? Now?? "Sans, I just told you it's ugly!"

"It looked that way in the scan," he insisted.

"But-! I mean-! You really want to do this now?!"

"Why not? We've been building up to this for a while. I'm ready to share my Soul with you. If you're really not ready for this I won't push you, but I think you really need to see your Soul."

"I-" What were you supposed to say to that? He was so confident that your Soul wasn't ugly. What if he was wrong? "What...what if you're wrong?" you asked as you buried your face into his chest.

"I'm not." You could hear his smirk.

"But what if you are?" You tried to speak up since your voice was muffled by his shirt. You heard him sigh.

"Even if you have the ugliest Soul that's ever existed, I promise I will still love you." That made you pause. Sans _hated_ making promises. Part of you knew he was only saying this because he was so convinced that your Soul wasn't ugly, but....the fact that he actually _promised_ meant so much to you. Maybe your ugly Soul wouldn't scare him off.

"Alright," you mumbled into his sternum.

"Cool." He chuckled and pressed a skeleton kiss to the top of your head. "Go ahead into your bedroom and get changed into something comfy. I'll be there in a little bit." You nodded and did as you were told. You weren't sure why he wasn't just coming in with you, but you were too worried about the whole situation to bother to question it. Instead, you changed into your fluffiest pajama pants and your favorite oversized T-shirt. Whatever happened here, comfort was key. Once dressed, you settled down on your bed and curled up in the center. A minute later there was a knock on your door.

"Come in."

"No," came his muffled voice. "You're supposed to say 'who's there?'" You rolled your eyes, feeling a bit of the nerves and fear melt away and your boyfriend's antics.

"Who's there?" you called.

"Honeybee."

"Honeybee who?"

"Honeybee a dear and let me in, would you?"

"Come in, you goober," you giggled. How was it that Sans could always make you smile, no matter how dark the situation? He opened the door and poked his head in.

"All ready?" You nodded, not trusting your voice as all of your nerves started rushing back. He gave you a gentle smile and slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. He climbed onto your bed and situated himself behind you with his legs on either side of you. "Comfy?" he asked.

"Y-yeah," you silently cursed the quiver in your voice.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. This won't hurt a bit."

"I-I know, it's just-"

"Hey." He cupped your chin and turned you to look at him. "I told I'm not going to push this. If you're really not ready, then we can just curl up on the couch and watch a movie." You stared at him for a moment, seeing just how earnest he was. You knew how special this was for monsters and how much he wanted to share this with you, but you could tell that he would gladly wait if you asked him to.

"No I...I'm good. This is important to you and," you took a deep breath. "I trust you."

"Alright then. Would you like to see mine first?"

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't ask to see yours if I wasn't ready to show you mine."

"Yeah. Yes. Please." You stumbled over your words, still fearful of what would happen, but excited and touched that he was so ready to show you his Soul. You turned around in his lap to face him more fully as he brought a holed hand to his sternum. He slowly brought his hand away and an upside down cartoon heart followed. He gently took your hands and placed his Soul in them.

You stared in awe as it bobbed in the air just above your palms. It was a beautiful pearl color with veins of black and blue arching across its surface.

"See? My Soul’s not perfect."

"It’s so pretty."

"Pretty messed up."

"Sans."

"What? I’m just saying-"

"I know what you're saying and I know what you're trying to do. But it's not the same."

"You sure about that?"

You didn't know how to respond so you didn't. Instead, you brought his Soul closer to you and poured your emotions into it. Your love for him, your joy at how much he trusts you, and your fear of what will happen when he sees your Soul. Sans sucked a breath in through his teeth, drawing your attention to his face.

"Sorry," you muttered. "Too much?"

"J-just, ah, a little raw." He chuckled. "Warn a guy next time, huh?" He pressed a kiss to your cheek as you carefully passed his Soul back to him. He gingerly brought it back to his sternum where is slipped back inside, causing him to hiss out a breath.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Sharing emotions like that is a major part of Soul Sharing. I wasn't sure if you'd be able to do it on your own with no magic, so I'm thrilled that you managed it. Raw emotion is just rough to deal with sometimes, especially when it's unexpected. Just try to be a little more careful next time."

"Next time," you murmured to yourself. Would there really be a next time?

"You ready?"

"I guess."

"No. I need you to be really ready. If you're not then say something. We can stop here."

"But you showed-"

"I showed you my Soul because I wanted to share it with you. I wanted you to see that just because you think your Soul is ugly doesn't mean it is. If you're ready to share your Soul with me then I am honored to see it, but don't force yourself into anything." Your eyes teared up from how sincere he was. You could feel echoes of his emotions and his determination in your palms and chest where you held his Soul.

"I'm ready," you said softly. "Waiting won't make this any easier. I trust you."

"Then just lay back and relax." You wiped your eyes, turning to face forward and lean back against his chest as he wrapped his arms around you. "You'll feel a little pull, but it won't hurt." You nodded and closed your eyes. You were nervous, but you meant it when you said you trusted him. Just like he said, you felt a slight pull in your chest. You willed yourself to relax and let your soul move where it wanted. You felt a slight popping sensation and then there was a gentle green light shining against your eyelids. You were too scared to look.

"Hey, you gotta see this," Sans whispered. He didn't sound disgusted, so there was that at least. In fact, he sounded excited. You hesitantly squinted one eye open to peek at your soul. Your eyes shot open as you stared at it. Was....was that really your soul?

"I-is that....?"

"Yep. I told you, sweetheart, you're beautiful."

There, cupped gently in Sans's hands, was your soul. A small cartoonish heart that floated and bobbed just above his palms. It wasn't pea soup. The base color that had looked so sickly in the scans now shone a vibrant minty green. The light green shifted into swirls of a rich forest green as the heart bobbed in front of you, turning in a slow circle and showing off every angle. It was iridescent. There were bits of purple and red and blue and yellow that shimmered across the surface.

"I-b-but-"

"You don't have an ugly Soul. You are beautiful. The scanner probably couldn't pick up all those different shards of color you've got dancing across the surface." You let out a shuddering breath and blinked away tears.

"I'm not ugly," you whispered.

"You're not ugly," he whispered back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is! I have no idea what I'm going to write for the next chapter, so I'm asking you, my dear readers, for suggestions. Which AU would you like to see next? One I've already done? Or a brand new one? Also feel free to suggest situations!


	7. Fear and Comfort (UF!PapyrusxReader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus is a sweetheart.  
> A protective and slightly violent sweetheart, but a sweetheart nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for EragonzzDrgn. UF!Paps didn't make things easy this time, but I hope you like how it turned out.

Papyrus was going to freak.

That was all you could think about.

You were sitting on the floor of the bank, huddled up with the rest of the hostages while five burly men with large guns and masks were in the process of robbing said bank. Two of the men, wearing a Richard Nixon mask and a Bill Clinton mask, were standing nearby to keep you all in line. The guy with the Barack Obama mask was forcing one of the tellers to fill several bags with money while the one wearing the Donald Trump mask had dragged another teller and a security guard into the back to open the safety deposit boxes. The fifth man, who was apparently the leader, decided to be ironic or some shit and stood on a table wearing a Batman mask.

Most of the other hostages were crying or praying. Two young guys were talking in whispers, one being the token dumbass who wants to be a hero, and the other the far more intelligent friend who was doing his very best to talk his dumbass friend out of it. You were mildly concerned for your safety and for the safety of the other hostages, but the main thought running through your mind was how utterly livid Papyrus was going to be about this whole situation.

You hadn't been dating the tall skeleton for very long, but that was because you were both just a little too good at hiding your feelings. You had been crushing on him for ages before either of you finally admitted it. Despite your relationship still being fairly new, Papyrus was very protective of you. He would get worked up whenever you got a paper cut. Just thinking about what he would do to the bank robbers if you got hurt gave you chills.

You were snapped back to the present when you heard a very distinct and familiar ringtone come from the bag the robbers had thrown everyone's phones into. You froze in a moment of panic. That was Papyrus's ringtone!

"What the hell is that?!" yelled Nixon.

"It's one of the phones," Clinton replied.

"Well shut it up!"

"I don't know which one it is!"

"Just smash them all!" Batman ordered.

"No! Wait!" You yelled and then immediately flinched as all three masks turned to face you. "Please," you begged. "That's my phone and that ringtone is for someone in particular. I ALWAYS answer when he calls. If I don't answer now he's going to know something's wrong."

"What's he gonna do?" Clinton mocked. "Call the cops cause you didn't answer your phone?"

"No, he'll activate the tracker he had installed in my phone that he thinks I don't know about. When he sees I'm at the bank, he's going to come here. You don't want him to come here."

"Ooh, is your big bad boyfriend going to come and beat us up?" Nixon laughed. You heard the ringtone end as it went to voicemail. There were a few seconds of silence before it started again.

"He's more likely to kill you," you told them honestly. "Seriously, you ever see 'Die Hard'? Or 'Taken'? Hell, if he's feeling especially creative it could be more like 'Saw'." Clinton laughed again while Nixon tossed the bag to the ground and raised his foot to stomp on it.

"He's a monster!"

"Wait!" Batman yelled and Nixon's foot stopped mid-descent. Batman looked at you. "What kind of monster is he?"

"The angry kind. Strong, high LV, former Guardsman." Batman jumped down from the table and walked over to the bag of phones. He pulled out your phone and walked over to you.

"Calm him down. Nothing else." He handed you the phone and you rushed to answer before it went to voicemail again.

"Hello?"

 _"FINALLY!"_ came Papyrus's staticky screech. _"WHY DIDN'T YOU ANSWER THE FIRST TIME?"_

"My phone was on silent in my bag," you lied quickly. "I didn't feel it vibrate until just now."

_ "ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU SOUND......OFF." _

"I'm fine, really. It's just," Batman raised his gun to your head as a not so gentle reminder, "the line is really long at the bank today."

_ "YOU'RE STILL AT THE BANK?! YOU'VE BEEN GONE FOR HOURS!" _

"Relax, I haven't been at the bank for hours. I had some other errands to run first." Papyrus huffed.

_ "WELL, YOU HAD BETTER HURRY UP! IT'S DATE NIGHT! AND I INTEND FOR THIS TO BE THE GREATEST DATE NIGHT EVER!" _

"It always is." You couldn't help but smile as he 'Nyeh heh heh'ed over the phone. "I'll text you when I'm on my way, alright?"

_ "VERY WELL. UNTIL THEN!" _

"Until then." You hung up and handed your phone back to Batman.

"Good girl," he sneered. "Now we won't have to fill your stupid, well-meaning boyfriend with lead."

"Oh please," you said as you rolled your eyes. "You only let me answer because you're scared of him. And he's a monster so you can't "fill him with lead". Monsters just-"

"Turn to dust," he finished with a sickening smile. "I am well aware." The glint in his eye gave you the distinct impression that he had killed monsters before. "We know exactly what we're doing, sweet cheeks."

The sirens and flashing lights of a squad of police cars sent a wave of simultaneous hope and dread through the other hostages. You tensed a bit as you still held Batman's attention. The arrival of the cops meant that the robbers were now on a timer. If anyone, hostage or robber, was going to make reckless choices and stupid mistakes, this was the time.

"Right on time," Batman muttered before turning away from you to address his thugs. "Alright, boys! Timer starts now." They all reached to their wrists and pushed a button. "Obama, how's our haul?"

"Looking good. Non-sequential, no dye packs."

"Good. Trump?"

"On schedule!" Trump called from the vault. "Cleared fifteen of twenty."

"Like clockwork," Batman said smugly. "Let's finish this up so we can end on a high note."

Time seemed to stop when you heard Papyrus's ringtone again.

"What's this?" Batman glared at you. "It seems your boyfriend is the clingy type. Answer it." He threw your phone at you and you scrambled to catch it before it could hit the ground and shatter the screen.

"Hello?" You tried to hide the way your voice was shaking, but you weren't sure you'd be able to hide it from Papyrus.

 _"Relax,"_ Papyrus said quietly and calmly. His soft voice was infinitely more terrifying than his angry yelling. _"I'm Aware Of The Situation. Let Me Speak To Them."_

"T-to who?"

 _"To The Men Who Are Foolish Enough To Hold You Hostage,"_ he growled. You swallowed the lump in your throat and held the phone out to Batman.

"He wants to talk to you."

"Oh does he now? Go ahead and put him on speaker."

"Okay." You pushed the button. "You're on speaker phone now. They can hear you."

 _"GOOD. NOW LISTEN CLOSELY, YOU HUMAN SCUM,"_ Papyrus said slowly. _"BECAUSE I AM ONLY GOING TO SAY THIS ONCE. I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU, I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE BANK, AND I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE OTHER HOSTAGES. I DO, HOWEVER, CARE ABOUT WHAT IS **MINE**. YOU WILL RELEASE MY HUMAN AND YOU WILL DO SO QUICKLY. IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLY, I WILL BE FORCED TO TAKE ACTION."_

"Papyrus, please don't kill them. It'll just-"

"That's some pretty big talk for a monster," Batman cut you off. "How about a counter offer? You piss off like a good little pet and I'll let her go when I'm good and ready."

_ "THIS IS NOT A NEGOTIATION, HUMAN. THIS IS AN ULTIMATUM. YOU WILL DO AS I SAY, OR YOU WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES." _

"Really? Cause it sounds to me like I've got you by the short and curlies. How about instead _you_ do as _I_ say and in return, I won't paint the walls with your girl's pretty little brains."

_ "THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. LET HER GO." _

"No."

 _"VERY WELL THEN. GO FISH."_ The phone beeped when Papyrus ended the call. Batman looked confused and a little amused, but you were frozen in shock. That was a code phrase. Your mind quickly snapped to what the code meant and how you were meant to respond. Your shock only lasted a moment before you leaped into action.

"Get down!" You shouted and dove towards the rest of the hostages. Your sudden shout and movement seemed to shock them all into immediate obedience as they ducked their heads and pressed themselves flat to the ground. You closed your eyes and covered your head, but you could still clearly hear the deep pulsing sound of Undyne's magic followed by the whoosh of her spears. You heard everyone still standing cry out in shock.

You kept your head down as several crashes and bangs followed along with a few gunshots. You didn't dare raise your head until it all calmed down. Finally, you looked up to see the aftermath. Lesser Dog was standing over you and the other hostages with his shield held up to protect you from any stray attacks or gunfire. Nixon and Clinton were pinned to the floor by Greater Dog who was snarling ferociously. Dogammy and Dogaressa were nuzzling sweetly as they held their axes up to keep Obama in place. Doggo was walking Trump out of the vault, growling at him to keep moving. You couldn't help but smirk when you looked at Batman. Undyne had her foot planted on his chest and her spear pointed at his throat. Then there were the human officers. A whole SWAT team had accompanied Undyne and the guard. Several cops were aiming their guns at the robbers to reinforce the threat while others were pulling out handcuffs.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" You blinked in confusion as you looked up at the cop who had knelt down to check on you and the others.

It was over.

You were safe.

 

Papyrus was so going to kill you.

* * *

You sat silently the whole ride home. Papyrus hadn't said a word to you since he picked you up from the bank. You knew he was angry, but you couldn't find it in you to feel bad. When he pulled up outside the bank after all was said and done, he snatched your keys from you and tossed them to Sans, telling him to drive your car home. Then he ushered you into his convertible and sped towards home. When he finally parked, he got out and slammed the door shut behind him. You rolled your eyes as you followed, closing your door much more gently. You trailed behind Papyrus as he stomped his way up the walkway and through the front door. After shutting and locking the door behind you, you walked into the living room where Papyrus stood arms folded and glaring at the wall.

"So..." you started. "Are we going to talk about this or...?"

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" He shouted as he whirled to face you.

"Oh good," you muttered to yourself, "we're screaming."

"YOU HATE THE BANK! THAT'S WHY YOU DO ALL OF THAT STUFF ONLINE! WHY WERE YOU EVEN IN THERE?!"

"I had checks to deposit and the ATM wasn't working, so I went inside. Then those guys burst through the door and told us to hand over our phones."

"I CALLED YOU! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!"

"He had a gun to my head!"

"WE HAVE A CODE! THIS IS WHY WE MADE THE CODE! ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS SAY DOG FOOD! YOU EVEN MENTIONED RUNNING OTHER ERRANDS! THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A PERFECT TIME TO MENTION IT! THEN I WOULD HAVE KNOWN SOMETHING WAS WRONG!!!"

"I don't understand why you're so upset. You figured it out anyway."

"I SHOULDN'T HAVE _NEEDED_ TO FIGURE IT OUT! WE COULD HAVE SAVED A GREAT DEAL OF TIME IF YOU HAD JUST FOLLOWED PROCEDURE!"

"Well, I'm sorry I didn't follow procedure for getting held hostage!"

"WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING ME ON THIS?! YOU AGREED TO THE CODE! YOU CAME UP WITH HALF OF IT!"

"Because this isn't about the stupid code, it's about you wanting to play hero! You're mad because I didn't say anything! But I knew that if I said something, you would go charging into the situation without any other information. They all had guns, Papyrus, and I'm certain the leader has LV, that he's killed monsters before. I wasn't about to invite you to get mixed up in that!"

"IT'S MY JOB TO-"

"NO, IT'S NOT!" He paused in shock when you yelled back. "It's not your job! You chose to leave the Guard! It's not your job to put yourself in harms way all the time, even to protect others! It's not your job, so stop acting like it is! I'm not going to risk you! I'm not willing to risk your safety, or god forbid your _life_ for something stupid!"

"YOUR WELL BEING ISN'T STUPID!" His voice was still loud, but he was no longer yelling.

"Neither is yours! If I had said something, if I had used the code, you would have gotten to the bank as quickly as you could. Then you would have tried to save me and one of two things would happen. 1. You would get hurt, or worse killed, and I would still be a hostage. Or 2. You would beat them and save me. Whether you kill them or not doesn't even matter because all the media would see is a monster attacking humans. It wouldn't matter that you were doing it to save me. They would see a monster entering the situation, endangering hostages, and attacking humans. It would be worse if you killed them. Papyrus, if that happened, they would take you away! You would be arrested! I might never get to see you again! I don't want to lose you, Papyrus, and I'm not going to risk losing you!" You were in tears by this point, choking out everything you had to say. When you finally finished your tirade, you collapsed in a heap on the living room floor and sobbed.

You had been lying to yourself the whole time. You had been terrified in the Bank. You were scared that you would be hurt or killed or that you would be forced to stand by and helplessly watch as someone else was hurt or killed. The one thing that helped you stay strong was the thought that Papyrus was safely out of their reach. As long as you focused on protecting Papyrus, you were able to stay strong.

Papyrus didn't say anything as he stepped closer to you and scooped you up. He slowly and carefully carried you upstairs to his room where he laid you gently on his bed. While you kept crying, suddenly unable to stop, Papyrus took off your shoes and tucked you in under his many blankets. Once he had you all situated, he climbed in next to you. He wrapped himself around you and held you while you cried.

"Feeling Better?" he asked softly once you had begun to calm down. You nodded, not yet trusting your voice. Papyrus heaved a sigh. "I'm Sorry That You Felt All Of This. And That You Felt You Couldn't Share It. But You Have To Understand _It's My Job_ To Protect You. You Are _My_ Girlfriend. You Are _Mine_ To Protect. I _Need_ To Protect You And I Need You To _Know_ That I Can Protect You."

"I do," you mumbled into his collarbone. "I know you can protect me. And I trust you. I was just so scared of what would happen if they-"

"Relax" he purred. "It's Over Now. You're Safe, And I'm Not Letting Go Of You For A Very Long Time." You giggled as he snuggled closer to you. For all of his edgy, sharp clothing and fiercely abrasive attitude, Papyrus could be an absolute cuddle bug.

"How did you do it?" you asked. "How did you figure it out?"

"It Wasn't Difficult. I Could Tell From Your Voice That Something Was Wrong. Though I Didn't Realize It Was Something So Big Since You Didn't Use The Code. I Sent Sans To Check On You. I, Uh..." You noticed a slight blood orange tinge on his cheeks and a drop of sweat on the side of his skull. "*Ahem* I Also.....Activated..."

"You used the tracking chip in my phone?"

"You Know About That?!"

"Yup. Alphys let it slip when I asked her to put one in your phone."

"You-?!" He looked utterly bewildered.

"You have no idea how much I worry about you, Papyrus. I know I'm not a monster and I don't have magic, but I still want to protect you." He burrowed his face into your hair and mumbled about 'foolish humans'.

"Well," he continued. "After I Activated The Chip To See Which Bank You Were At, I Sent Sans To Check Up On You. He Took A Shortcut And Saw The Human Police Outside So He Called To Tell Me. That Was When He Spotted Undyne And The Guard. Apparently, They Were Called In Because Those Fools Were Trying To Steal Monster Artifacts That Were Being Kept In The Safety Deposit Boxes. That's When Undyne And I Came Up With Our Plan. I Called You So I Could Talk To Them And Distract Them While She And The Guard Dogs Got Into Position To Launch Their Attack. I Wanted To Be There So I Could Personally Deal With Them, But," he grimaced, "Undyne Insisted That It Would Be Better If I Wasn't Present."

"I'm sorry, I know you wanted to be there, but I'm glad she didn't let you. I would never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me."

"And I Would Never Forgive Myself If You Got Hurt Because I Didn't Protect You."

"Sounds like we're at an impasse."

"Nonsense." he scoffed. "This Is Merely A Puzzle That We Must Solve. I Propose That We Work Together. You Will _Call Me_ When You Are In Danger So That I May Protect You," he gave you a hard look as he spoke,  "And I Will Proceed With Caution. I Will Not Put Myself In Unnecessary Danger For The Sake Of Your Safety. However, If The Danger Is Necessary Then All Bets Are Off."

"I suppose that's the best I could hope for with you," you sighed. "I promise to alert you to any danger I'm in for any and all future events. But if you're in danger, then I'm going to fight to protect you too. It doesn't matter if you're in danger because you're protecting me or because it just happens to be a dangerous situation. I love you and I'm not going to stand by and let you get hurt." You stared defiantly at him, daring him to argue.

"Very Well," he relented after a short stare down. "It Is Only Fitting That The Girlfriend Of The Great And Terrible Papyrus Should Be So Determined And Loyal." You beamed at him, pleased with the way everything worked out. It wasn't a perfect arrangement, but it really was the best you could ask for with how pigheaded you both were.

It was all finally over.

You were finally safe and sound at home with your skeleton boyfriend.

You smiled to yourself as you snuggled ever closer to Papyrus, burying your face in his shirt, and fell into a deep and well-earned sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is! Let me know what you guys think! I LIVE for your detailed comments! And please! If there's anything you didn't like, PLEASE let me know! Aggressive comments will be burned in order to roast marshmallows, but I always appreciate some good old constructive criticism.  
> Also remember to mention which AUs or situations you would like to see! Requests are open! However, as I said in response to a comment last chapter, I reserve the right to deny certain requests. I'm trying to keep this series of oneshots SFW, so NSFW requests will not be posted. I may later start a NSFW series where you can send those requests, but that's for later. I will also deny a request that I do not feel comfortable writing.  
> Other requests that just aren't spawning any ideas or getting the creative juices flowing will be accepted, but I will place them on the back burner until I have the time and energy to really write them out. Doctor_S, if you're still reading these, I DO have your request on my To Do list. It's just going to take a lot of time for me to sit down and crank it out as it clashes with my head canon. Also, those kinds of stories tend to be sad and I don't always do too well with sad stories. I get really into the stories when I write, so sad stories tend to leave me feeling down for a while afterwards.  
> So, there you go! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to your requests and suggestions!


	8. Jealousy Part 2 (UF!SansxReader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Sans have talked everything out. Now it's time to deal with a certain Dog Monster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am working on the other requests, but I got a comment that sparked this and I just had to write it out! Thank you 9DifferentTypesOfCrazy and I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> To the Anon who goes by Asleptoc: I replied to your comment before I realized that you're an anon and wouldn't get a notification about it :P Just want some clarification on what you're asking for before I add it to the list. 
> 
> Please also check out my tumblr @ladyarkytiorofdunans

As much as the whole "almost-breaking-up-because-of-miscommunication-and-jealousy" situation had sucked, you were happy with how things turned out. After Sans thoroughly ravished you on the couch (and then again in the bedroom), he took you out to the mall to go shopping. He was eager to get you a collar, even if it was just a necklace. You expected him to take you right to the jewelry store, but instead, he went to the pet store.

"Um, what are we doing here?" you asked.

"ta get my tag. that was the rule, right? you'd only wear the col-uh, necklace if i got a tag with your name on it." His grin grew. "so i figure we should get this outta the way first. then we can go get your necklace and ya can wear it right away."

"Okay," you snickered. "But why a pet store? You're not a dog. There are stores where you can buy nicer tags and charms."

"yeah, but those are all delicate. i ain't spendin a bunch of money on somethin that's just gonna break. these tags a made to last." You smiled back at him, thrilled that things had all worked out. More or less.

Sans was clearly over the whole "pretty boy" thing now that he knew who it was and why you went on a picnic with him. If he had just read your texts, it wouldn't have been a problem. No, what worried you was how he was going to deal with Fang. None of your monster friends ever really talked about the underground. They would mention things from when they lived down there, and it didn't seem like it caused them pain or discomfort to talk about that time, but they all but refused to go into detail about what life was like down there. You knew the basics just like every other human, but no one talked about details. You knew it was kill or be killed, but no one ever talked about who they killed or how they killed.

Asgore, after needling from both Frisk and Toriel, set up laws to stop monsters from killing each other and to lessen violence between them. Of course, there were ways around those laws. If a monster was acting in self-defense or in defense of another, then they wouldn't be punished for violence. If they killed in defense, then their punishment was decided by whether killing was truly necessary. If the only way to survive was to kill, the punishment was lenient. However, if it turned out that they killed when they could have easily survived and gotten away without killing, then the punishment was severe. Attacking when it wasn't in defense was also severely punished, as was attacking without provocation. Killing in those situations was unacceptable. Anyone caught killing for any reason other than it being the only option for survival, was sentenced to a slow and painful death. Many humans cried out against the cruelty of that punishment, but the gentle queen explained that a truly terrifying punishment like that was the best way to ensure that monsters NEVER killed unless they absolutely had to. No one would kill and claim self-defense unless it was true.

Having so many monster friends, several of whom were in the guard, meant that you were also privy to the lesser known monster laws on violence. Because monster instincts play such a big part in their culture, there are amendments to account for them. Violence was less likely to be punished if it was against another monster who was trying to attack or interfere with their territory. Monsters wouldn't be punished for attacking a monster who broke into his home or stole something precious to him. In some cases, killing was even an acceptable response.

You were more than a little worried about what that would mean for Fang. Technically, Fang had tried to claim what belonged to Sans. Fang knew you were dating Sans, but he still scent marked you as if you were _his_ girlfriend. You knew there was an argument for Fang since Sans hadn't marked you yet at that point, but you didn't think it would really help. Sans was likely to dust Fang over this. You were angry at the mongrel, but you didn't want him to die for being an asshole.

Eventually, you pushed that thought aside and decided to focus on shopping with Sans. He was usually far too lazy to ever want to go out to the mall, let alone actually shopping for things. You slowly browsed through the many different shapes and colors of dog tags before finally deciding on the one you wanted.

"I like that one."

"which one?" You pointed to a light blue heart shaped tag. "really?" He cocked a browbone at you, clearly unimpressed with it.

"Well, it's going to have my name on it, right? To show you're mine? Well, it kind of looks like my soul. It's the same color and-"

"hey!" Sans cut you off and waved the clerk over. "we'll take that one." He pointed to the tag you suggested, his grin wider than ever. You had been a little concerned about all the claiming and marking stuff. You were a person, not a thing. But Sans seemed more excited by the idea of you claiming him than of being able to claim you. Apparently, this aspect of monster instinct and culture was less about owning someone else and more about belonging to/with someone else. His smile never wavered as he told the clerk to inscribe your name on the tag. Yeah. It wasn't about claiming each other like animals. It was about making promises. Monsters don't admit to having affection for others because it's viewed as a weakness, but the emotions become obvious when monsters bond and marry. Claiming each other like this is a promise to protect each other. By picking that tag, you weren't just putting your name on Sans' collar, you were putting your soul there. And he loved it.

Sans grumbled when the clerk told him how long the engraving would take, but perked up when you suggested taking that time to go pick out your necklace. He pressed a quick skeleton kiss to the top of your head before dragging you out of the pet shop, through the mall, into the jewelry store, and right up to the counter in the back. You flinched right along with the salesman when Sans slammed his palms down on the glass counter and (miraculously) managed to not break it. The action alone was startling to the poor man, but Sans' maniacal grin wasn't helping. Sans was excitedly, and loudly, telling the salesman what he wanted, but the poor guy was too flustered to understand what was happening.

You encouraged Sans to take a step back, take a deep breath, and shut up. He huffed and crossed his arms in a pout. Once Sans was settled, you turned to the man who looked very grateful for your presence at that moment.

"Sorry about him," you said sweetly. "He's just a little excited. We're looking for a necklace." You took your time explaining what you wanted and showing him Sans' collar as a reference for style and color. It took a long while, but you finally found one that you were happy with that wasn't too expensive.

"hey. can ya put charms on that necklace?"

"Um, y-yes, we can. Is there-?"

"do ya do engravings?"

"Yes, we do-"

"hey, sweetheart, hows about we give ya a charm with my name on it?" He pointed to a little silver heart charm. "it's the wrong color and direction, but i think it's the best we'll get."

"Wrong direction?" the man asked.

"It's kind of a monster thing. We're getting him a charm with my name on it that matches my soul. It would be kinda cool to have one on my necklace."

"Well if that's the case," the man said, seeming much more comfortable talking to you, "Then I would suggest this charm." He pulled another heart charm out of a different cabinet and held it out for you to see. "This one is just like the other, but the link is on the back. It would be a simple matter to place the charm upside down on your necklace to mimic a monster soul. I can even engrave it so his name is right side up when it's on the necklace."

"Oh, that's awesome! Thank you!"

Everything was working out wonderfully.

* * *

Except it wasn't.

You had been so wrapped up in buying your necklace and Sans's tag that you completely forgot about Fang. Sans didn't. You thought it was a little odd when he suggested going to Muffet's for lunch, but you didn't put any more thought into it. The two of you sat there eating and just chatting about life. With how crazy things had been lately, it had been a while since you had a chance to just talk. You were blissfully lost in your own little world with Sans.

"Well, well," a new voice shattered the peace. "Look who's here. This scumbag bothering you?" You turned in your seat to stare at Fang in shock. What the hell was he saying?! He stood there with a lit dog treat in his mouth and glared at Sans. "Get lost. She's clearly not interested in you, bone boy, so leave her alone." You heard Sans growl, ready to attack.

" _Excuse_ you?!" you demanded. Fang looked at you, shocked. "How  _dare_ you come in here and say things like that! You tried to sabotage my relationship!"

"I'm saving you from a shitty excuse of a relationship, sweetheart."

"First of all, do NOT call me that! Sans is the only one who gets to call me that. Second, we have a wonderful relationship!"

"He didn't mark you."

"Because he was being polite!" You stood and snarled up at the dog monster. "He didn't want to put pressure on me or assume anything, so he didn't mark me yet. But that is NOT an invitation for someone else to smear their scent all over me!"

"technically it's mag-"

"Not the time, Sans," you hissed, promptly silencing your boyfriend. "You had no right to mark me like that!"

"You weren't complaining about it before."

"I didn't know about it before! I'm not a monster! I can't sense magic the way you guys can! You marked me without my knowledge or consent!" You heard a lot of the other patrons whispering now, clearly disapproving of Fang's actions.

"Look, just because-"

"I'm not finished! After covering me in your magical scent and trying to sabotage my relationship, you then have the _audacity_ to walk up to us and speak to my boyfriend like you have any say in my life!"

"Well if he did his job like a proper mate, this wouldn't be an issue."

"Don't push this on Sans! You stepped WAY out of line. And for the record, Sans is a great mate. Despite your best efforts, we're very happy together." You glared up at him and gently touched your brand new choker necklace. The rubies set in black metal were perfectly offset by the white gold heart placed upside down in the center. Fang's eyes glanced down to see it before snapping over to Sans, who was smirking as he played with his own light blue tag. Fang growled and grabbed your arm, yelping as he was quickly knocked to the floor.

" **don't** touch my girl," Sans snarled as he wrapped one arm around you and held the other up threateningly. Red magic glowed in his hand and leaked from his left eye socket in a thick haze. Fang stood slowly, teeth bared. Some of the other customers were whispering and others were muttering under their breath, egging on the fight.

"Ahem," a tinkling voice interrupted. "If you boys fight in here, it's going to cause a mess." Muffet narrowed all five eyes at the both of them. "That will cost you both quite a bit. If you're going to fight, take it outside." Fang scoffed.

"Whatever. Like this bag of bones has the guts to fight me." If he was trying to make a pun, it fell flat.

"don't need guts to kick your sorry ass."

"Then let's go!"

"No!" you interjected. "You two are not fighting. Sans, dusting him will just mean more paperwork for Papyrus, and then we'll have to put up with his complaining about it."

"fine," Sans huffed. "mutt ain't worth it anyway."

"Yeah, that's right," sneered Fang. "Run away like the scared little babybones you are!"

That was the last straw. You were patient by nature, but you had finally reached your limit. Before Sans could react, you spun on your heel and punched that stupid dog right in the face. Fang yelped as he toppled to the floor again, likely more surprised by your attack than hurt. He stared up at you in shock as his dog treat lay forgotten on the floor.

"You come near me or my boyfriend again and I'll dust you myself," you growled down at him. The whole shop was silent as you turned around, grabbed Sans's arm, and stormed out. You made it halfway home before you calmed down enough to slow your pace.

"you, uh, you alright, sweetheart?"

"I'm fine," you groused. "I just can't believe he had the balls to-"

"hey, relax. it's over. you handled him perfectly."

"You're not mad that I did that, right? I know you wanted to pick a fight with him and all."

"yeah, but it's just like ya said. i'd end up dustin im and then pap would be on my case for all the paperwork. 'sides, i think he got the message."

"Yeah. Not sure I'd actually be able to dust him, though."

"whaddya mean? cause if ya mean strength, then don't worry about it. your more than strong enough to dust that mongrel. and if ya mean ya don't have the intent to actually do it, well." He looped his arm around your waist and pulled you close. "that's what ya've got me for." You giggled and snuggled into his side.

"And I didn't step on your toes or anything, right? Your instincts aren't upset that I dealt with him instead of you?"

"nah. if i'm bein honest, that was probably one of the hottest things i've ever seen."

"Really?"

"yeah, really. now, what say we go celebrate?"

"Celebrate what?" you giggled. "Our new tags, or scaring the shit out of Fang?"

"both," he purred. "come on, i know a shortcut."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My To Do list, not necessarily in any order:  
> \- Mafiafell!SansxReader Angsty Fluff (For Well_this_is_awkward. I was working on this when I got the comment that sparked this. It is coming, I promise)  
> \- Swapfell!SansxReader Enemies>Friends>Lovers (for cinnabun)  
> \- Dancetale!SansxReader (it's been buzzing in my head for a while and needs to be written)  
> \- HorrorDance!SansxReader (because I need to figure out how to make this a thing XD)  
> \- SansxReporter!Reader (This is a continuation of a oneshot by MissSugarPinnk in her story Requests. I have permission to write this one as long as I cite)
> 
> I am also still working on Lost in Translation, so that's coming too. Just doing some world building with Beasts. 
> 
> More requests are welcome both here and on my tumblr @ladyarkytiorofdunans


	9. Lady and the Tramp (Mafiafell!SansxReader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are known as Lady Fiore, the dame on Judge Red's arm. It's been a long time since you've had a chance to go out with your man. Tonight you're going to paint the town red!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story does take place in the early 1920s, so I did some research for things like available technology, money conversion, and slang. Some things I couldn't find cold hard facts on, so I just took estimates for the decade, but please let me know if there is anything that is truly wrong.
> 
> I also wrote this phonetically. Words are spelled how they are pronounced with the accents. If this is too hard for you guys to understand, please let me know and I'll publish this chapter a second time with less phonetics so it's easier to read. 
> 
> Mafiafell is not a set AU, but a combination of two set AUs. To write this, I took UF!Sans and put him in a Mafia setting. If anything here doesn't match other Mafiafell stories you've seen, that's why. I hope you guys like it!
> 
> Requested by Well_this_is_awkward

You sashayed out the door of your penthouse knowing just how good you looked. You locked the door and strode down the hall to where the elevator attendant was waiting for you. You smirked to yourself as you watched the young man eye you from head to toe. You had pulled out all the stops when you got ready for tonight.

Your bobbed hair was fixed into perfect little finger curls pressed tightly against your head. You decided to forgo a hat and instead wore a shimmering black beaded headband with a fluffy black feather. Your make up was perfect. Your face was powdered to look like porcelain, your full lips were painted red, and your eyes were accented by smokey eye shadow. The rubies in your necklace, bracelet, and earrings all glimmered in the light complementing your brand new dress. This little number was red and black, shimmered like the night sky, and hugged your chest and waist just right. The look was completed by your small black clutch and bright red heels, high enough to accentuate your long legs, but not so high as to be uncomfortable while dancing.

When the elevator attendant's eyes reached your shoes, they slowly drifted back up to your face, appreciating your appearance the whole way. Once he locked eyes with you again, he blushed and stammered out a greeting.

"G-good evening, Ma'am. G-going out t-tonight?"

"Yes, I am. Take me down to the lobby, please."

"R-right away, Ma'am!"

You stood silently the whole ride down, watching the kid fidget out of the corner of your eye. He was clearly trying to keep his mind on doing his job, but he seemed to be debating something else as well. It took a bit longer than usual, but he finally got you safely down all five floors to the lobby. He opened the gate and stepped out to make sure there was no one in your way while you walked off the elevator. You loved the way his eyes widened as he gratefully accepted the tip you handed him, clearly awed that you gave him a whole 50 cents. You turned to make your way to the coat check when he called out to you.

"W-wait!" You stopped and glanced over your shoulder at him. Was he really going to try? He hesitated for a moment before steeling himself. "I-I'm working this evening, b-but if you're f-free tomorrow-"

"I'm flattered, kid," you interrupted him gently. "When a girl takes the time and effort to dress up like this, she always wants to be noticed and appreciated. However, since you're clearly new around here, I'll give you a little heads up. The only reason you got a job here is because you were vetted and deemed not a threat." He looked thoroughly confused. "You ever wonder about all the security the place has? It's pretty excessive even for a place as nice as this."

"W-well, you're rich. Everybody here's rich. Even the people living on the first floor ain't poor."

"The security isn't for the money, kid, it's for me. Paying for my security was the only way the owner could protect this place. See, if something happens to me, then big bad Judge Red would come and tear this place apart." The color drained from his face so quickly it was a wonder he didn't pass out from the head rush. You smiled and waved, glad that he at least knew one of the Big Names, and walked up to the coat check.

"Good evening, Miss Fiore," came a bubbly greeting.

"Good evening, Sally. I'd like the black mink tonight."

"Right away!" The young girl rushed to get the coat you asked for and you pulled another 50 cents from your bag. "Here you go!" She walked back to the counter, carefully carrying your plain black coat. You took it, tipped her, and turned to leave. You slipped your coat on and waved to her when she shouted her thanks. You stepped through the revolving door, snuggling into the large fur collar of your coat against the autumn breeze. No wonder they called Chicago "The Windy City". You smiled at your ever punctual chauffeurs as you walked down the steps to the car sitting right in front of the building.

"Good to see you, Franky," you greeted the man standing next to the car.

"Lady Fiore." The rocky monster tipped his hat and opened the back door for you. He wasn't the hulking mountain you expected when you heard the mobster was a stone elemental, instead, he was tall and slender. He gently closed the car door behind you before making his way to the other side and sliding into the seat next to you.

"Evenin, Lady Fiore!" The cheery rabbit called from the front seat.

"Hello, Benny. How is your mother doing?"

"Oh, Ma's doin awright. She's well enough ta complain about da aches an pains at least!"

"Well give her my best wishes."

"Will do!" Franky smacked Benny's arm and grumbled at him to shut up and drive. You giggled at the two of them as Benny started the car and pulled off.

* * *

As the daughter of one of New York's most successful defense attorneys, you had always enjoyed the finer things in life. You were sent to the best schools, wore the latest fashions from Paris and Milan, and enjoyed attending parties with the highest of high society. Years of defending rich and powerful clients earned your father fame and fortune. It also earned connections. You knew your father was a true success when he started defending the Dreemurr Family. Being the attorney to one of the most powerful Monster Mafia families in the world, and certainly the most powerful in New York, meant that your father didn't spend much time in the actual courtroom. The mobsters were rarely caught. When they were, the family would usually just buy off the arresting cops to have the charges dropped or the judge to have the case thrown out. On the rare occasions when money couldn't fix the issue, your father was called in to handle things. This meant a lot of money for your family without too much of a workload on your father.

It was at a party that you met Sans. Your father had just managed to get one of the Dreemurr's chief lieutenants off scot-free from some rather hefty charges, and everyone was ready to celebrate. You and your mother were invited to join the party in recognition of your father's fine work. Between dancing, drinking, and mingling, you were loving every second of the party.

"well, hello dere. an who might dis lovely lady be?" You turned from your conversation with the Senator's daughter to see a large skeleton smirking at you. He was clearly another mobster, standing haughtily in his pinstripe suit and fedora. You were sure you'd never seen him before, and you knew everyone who was worth knowing in the Dreemurr family. Perhaps he was an underling who hoped to get in good with the higher-ups while they were in a good mood?

You stared at him for a long moment, letting an awkward silence set in. His smirk became slightly strained and small red drops of sweat began to bead on his skull. After a moment longer, you turned back to resume your conversation.

"hey, ya gonna tell me yer name er not?"

"Oh? Are you talking to me? You said 'this lady', so I wasn't sure to whom you were speaking."

"actually, i said 'dis  _lovely_ lady', but awright." He seemed to recover a bit at your snark.  "den what, may i ask, is yer name, ma lovely lady?"

"Why should I give my name? You're clearly an uncouth man. Mob connections, no doubt." You were being coy. You weren't sure if you actually wanted to give your name to this man, but you were definitely having fun toying with him.

"oh, perish da thought," he played along. i'm just a humble businessman."

"Are you lost then? A party as lavish as this is hardly the place for someone as 'humble' as yourself."

"not at all. ya see, i'm here by invitation. ma brother an i are visitin from outta town, so we was invited by our good friend undyne." The name drop didn't escape you. Undyne was Don Asgore's right hand. Claiming to be her friend was a bold move. You took a moment to ponder the fact that he claimed to be from out of town and came up with two options. Either this man was a nobody who hoped to get somewhere by claiming to be a visitor with powerful connections, and was stupid enough to use the Dreemurr family, or he truly was as powerful as he claimed. The second option seemed unlikely. You held little value to the mob beyond being your father's daughter, so you made a habit of collecting gossip on everyone you could. Surely, if Undyne had invited friends from out of town, you would have heard something about it. You were feeling particularly bold that night, so you decided to call his bluff.

"I see. I wasn't aware that Miss Undyne had such rude friends."

"rude?"

"Yes. It's very ungentlemanly to ask a lady for her name without first giving your own."

"so sorry to offend, ma lady. da name's sans. sans fontaine de gaster." He took off his hat and gave a deep bow, playing up the action. The Senator's daughter giggled, clearly enamored with him. You knew of the Gaster family. They were the ruling family in Chicago. To be allowed to call himself De Gaster meant that he was a powerful man in the family. A lieutenant perhaps?

"A pleasure," you said dismissively.

"do i get ta know yer name now?"

_"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,"_ you quoted. You were far better educated any mobster. Flaunting your intelligence and education was usually a good way to send the more haughty men running. _"So Sans would, were he not Sans call'd,"_ you continued your recitation, replacing Romeo's name with the skeleton's, _"retain that dear perfection which he owes without title. Sans, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee take all myself."_ You took a moment to appreciate his stunned expression. Your victorious smirk fell, however, when Sans grinned wide with a glint in his eye.

 _"i take dee at dy word: call me but love, an i'll be new baptized; hencefort i never will be sans."_ You were blindsided. You hadn't expected him to know the reference, let alone be able to quote the following line! Sure, his accent butchered the pronunciation, but he knew the words! You grew determined and took a moment to steel yourself. You would test him.

 _"What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night,"_ you continued, _"so stumblest on my counsel?"_

 _"by a name i know not how ta tell dee who i am,"_ he recited smoothly. He even began using his arms to motion, playing up the scene. _"ma name, dear saint, is hateful ta maself, because it is an enemy ta dee; had i it written, i would tear da word."_

 _"My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound: art thou not Sans and a Gaster?"_ This was the true challenge. As impressive as it was that he could recite all of this with you, you were using his real name. If he continued in kind, he risked denouncing his place in the Gaster Family.

 _"neither, fair saint, if either dee dislike."_ His eyes met yours, recognizing your challenge and accepting it. He was certainly committed, though you weren't sure if you should call him brave or stupid.

_"How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, and the place death, considering who thou art, if any of my kinsmen find thee here."_

_"wit love's light wings did i o'er-perch dese walls. for stony limits cannot hold love out, an what love can do dat dares love attempt. derefore-"_ he stopped, blinking as he broke eye contact with you. He frowned, eyelights darting back and forth as he muttered to himself.  "an what love can do dat dares love attempt. derefore...derefore...shit!" He looked thoroughly disgruntled as you chuckled at him.

"That was impressive, Mr. Fontaine. I honestly didn't expect to find a fellow fan of Shakespeare."

"not sure i'd call maself a fan," he shrugged. "but i've read somma his stuff. _Romeo an Juliet_ is awright, but not da endin i'd want for an encounter like dis."

"Not a fan, but you know it well enough to quote it?"

"i got a real good memory. so den, good lady, may i learn dy name?"

"Good sir," you gasped in mock dismay. "You would quote such sweet things to me while still not knowing my name? Perhaps you are unworthy of knowing it."

"if ya tink me unworthy of dy name, ma lady, den what shall i call dee?" You couldn't help but admire the fact that he stuck with the Elizabethan pronouns. Even if his accent really did make him harder to understand.

"Lady."

"lady?"

"You keep calling me your lady. I am not yours, but I am a lady."

"an a lovely one at dat." He wiggled his...eyebrows? Brow bones?

"SANS!" You both jumped and turned to look at the tall skeleton who had called out as he strode over. "THERE YOU  ARE.  IT'S  TIME  TA  LEAVE."" His accent wasn't nearly as thick as Sans's, but it was still there.

"what, awready?"

"YES. NOW LET'S-" he paused when he noticed you standing there. "WHO'S  THIS?"

"uh," Sans looked sheepish as he started sweating. "she's-"

"I am Miss Fiore," you shot a smirk at Sans when you introduced yourself. You made sure to be polite to the new skeleton while still withholding your first name. You weren't quite ready to give up your game with Sans just yet.

"FIORE?"" he asked in mild surprise. "AS  IN  MILES  FIORE,  THE  DREEMURR'S  ATTORNEY?"

"Yes. He's my father."

"wait, what? really?"

"SANS!  HAVE  YOU  BEEN  PESTERIN  HER  THIS  WHOLE  TIME?  AND  YOU  DIDN'T  EVEN  BOTHER  TA  GET  HER  NAME??" You snickered behind your hand as Sans fumbled with an explanation.

"Please don't be so hard on him," you interrupted. "He tried to sweet talk me and I gave him the runaround."

"OH.  GOOD.  HE'S  BEEN  NEEDIN  A  GOOD  BRUISE  TA  HIS  EGO." You snickered again as Sans ducked his head, a light red glow dusting his cheeks. "I  AM  THE  GREAT  AN  TERRIBLE  PAPYRUS  FONTAINE  DE  GASTER.  THIS  CRETIN  IS  MY  BOTHER.  I  APOLOGIZE  IF  HE  WAS  BOTHERIN  YOU."

"Actually, I was enjoying our talk. Perhaps I'll see you around?" You worked hard to ensure your voice didn't sound too hopeful. 

"UNFORTUNATELY,  WE'RE  LEAVING  NEW  YORK  TONIGHT."

"i thought we weren't leavin till tuesday."

"WE  JUST  RECEIVED  A  PHONE  CALL  FROM  PUNCHY."

"shit, punchy called?"

"YES.  AND  YOU  KNOW  IT'S  NEVER  GOOD  WHEN  HE  BOTHERS  TA  PICK  UP  A  PHONE. HE'S ALMOST AS LAZY AS YOU."

"right. when're we leavin?"

"AS  SOON  AS  I  INFORM  OUR  HOSTS.  WE  WOULDN'T  WANT  TA  OFFEND  ANYONE  BY  NOT  SAYIN  GOODBYE." Papyrus rolled his eyelights and you had to keep from giggling. The thought of Don Asgore being truly offended by such a thing was laughable. The large boss monster could certainly be terrifying when he was angered, but if he called you his friend then he was willing to forgive quite a lot.

"i'll go down an have benny bring da car around." Sans started to head towards the door before stopping short. He spun around to face you, quickly snatching your hand and pressing his teeth to the back of it in a mock kiss. "i hope ta see ya again soon, ma lady." He shot you a wink before disappearing into the party crowd.

* * *

And see him you did. The day after the party, you talked with every gossip source and connection you had in the Dreemurr Family, asking for everything they knew about Sans and Papyrus Fontaine De Gaster. Imagine your shock when you discovered that the two were  _not_ lieutenants, but the very underbosses of the Gaster Family! Don Wing De Gaster led from the shadows, leaving most of the ruling to his two underbosses. He was so reclusive that most people believed he didn't actually exist but was a fabrication created by the Fontaine brothers as a figurehead for the family they ruled.

You weren't sure about all of that. You worked with so many rumors that you knew all should be taken with a grain of salt. What you did know, was that the man who had quoted Shakespeare with you at the Dreemurr party was the none other than "Judge Red" Fontaine. You were gobsmacked. You heard so many horror stories about how fearsome he was, and how merciless his brother "Boss Edge" was.

You weren't afraid of him or is reputation, but you were cautious. Men that powerful usually weren't willing to take no for an answer. Of course, men like that also tended to flaunt a reputation like his, and he hadn't said a word. Did he assume you already knew who he was? You had been very dismissive of him. So either he thought you knew who he was and were still willing to treat him that way, or he thought you didn't know who he was and decided not to tell you. Either way, it seemed that he appreciated your down to earth attitude toward him.

You were glad that you had taken the time to decide exactly how to act toward the man when the first gift arrived. The day after Sans and Papyrus left New York, a delivery man showed up on your doorstep with a large bouquet of long stem roses. 

> _To: da loveliest lady,_
> 
> _don't madder what ya call em, dey still smell nice._  
>  _only look half as good as you, dough._  
> 
> 
> _ -romeo _

You giggled when you read the card. Did he write the message phonetically just to be funny? Surely he didn't really think that was how those words were spelled. He could read and recite Shakespeare for heaven's sake! You clipped the ends of the roses and arranged them in a vase. It wasn't uncommon for mafia men to take a shine to a girl and string her along only to toss her aside when he got bored. Despite the danger, you couldn't deny how much you liked him. Or, perhaps it was because of the danger. Either way, you were definitely going to see this through.

You got a telegram from Sans every day, a gift every other day, and a letter once a week. You replied enough to show that you were interested, but not so much as to seem easy. If he really wanted you, he would have to work for it. Slowly but surely, the gifts became more extravagant and the letters were replaced with telephone calls. When he finally was able to visit New York again, you were pleased to see him at your doorstep. He smiled as sweetly as one could with teeth as sharp as his and handed you another bouquet of roses.

You took the bouquet and made it very clear to him how things would work. You explained that you were a woman of high breeding and not some floozy for him to cast aside when he got bored of you. He agreed with a smirk and promptly swept you off your feet. 

So began a new chapter in your life. Sans had learned your name just as you had learned of his reputation, but neither of you ever brought up that information. Sans liked the fact that you treated him as just another guy. Sans doted on you and treated you like a princess, but he never belittled you. He respected your clever mind and quick wit. There were even a few occasions where he asked for your help or opinion on dealing with a situation. Slowly but surely, you were falling for the dangerous skeleton man. Of course, Sans's treatment of you led to your own title. Lady Fiore. It started as just the way Sans introduced you, but it grew into something more. You always spoke clearly and with proper grammar, despite the thick accents around you, and you always carried an air of propriety about you. Every member of the Gaster Family you met called you Lady and treated you as such. It didn't take long for damn near everyone in Chicago to know whose girl you were.

You had known Sans for a little more than two years when you brought up the idea of moving to Chicago. He had you moved into your new penthouse within a week. 

* * *

You were pulled from your recollections when Benny pulled up to Grillby's new club,  _The Starry Night_. Franky quickly got out to open the door for you, giving you his hand to help you out of the car. He silently tipped his hat to you when you thanked him. You took his arm and let him walk you in both for your safety and the safety of anyone stupid enough to try something. You couldn't help but smirk to yourself when you heard the jealous chatter. Men wanted you and women wanted to be you. You held your head high as Franky took you through the crowd in the main club and into the back room. _The Starry Night_ was a dry establishment just like every other law-abiding establishment in the city. Except, of course, for the back room. The purple fire elemental left the main club to his niece Fuku, preferring to rule over the backroom speakeasy.

You weren't sure exactly what the special occasion was, but you were excited. Sans had been out of town for the last two weeks and he hadn't told you where he was. You didn't mind too much. You understood that even you weren't allowed to know everything with the nature of Sans's business. There were certain questions that you just didn't ask Sans. That way he never had to lie to you.

But that was in the past! Sans was back from wherever he went and he was ready to celebrate! He had sounded so excited through the phone that morning, telling you that it was a night to celebrate! You happily got all dolled up, ready to see your man again. Once you and Franky had been let into the backroom, you took a moment to let yourself be dazzled by the lights and the music. You had been awed as soon as you walked through the door, but you had an appearance to keep up. Now, you could only stand there and take it all in.

"an who might dis lovely lady be?" Your head whipped around to see Sans leaning against the wall to your left, looking as suave as ever. "tanks, franky. i'll take her from here." Franky nodded to Sans, tipped his hat to you one last time, and disappeared into the crowd. You couldn't see them, but you were sure that Franky wasn't the only Gaster boy who stuck around in the club for safety. You and Sans always had a security detail when you went out.

"hey dere, doll, i-" You quickly cut him off with a passionate kiss. Sans hummed in appreciation and grabbed your hips. "bedda watch it, doll. keep doin dat an i'm liable ta just take ya home an have ma way wit ya."

"Promises, promises," you purred. He gave a playful growl when you pulled away. "Oh, how rude of me! You went and planned this whole night out. And here I am distracting you from our plans." Sans grabbed your wrist and pulled you in close to press his teeth to your lips again.

"who wouldn't be distracted by a bombshell like you? come on, doll. we got a long evenin ahead of us."

And what an evening it was. A private meal cooked by Grillby himself paired with the best (and most expensive) wine in his extensive cellar. After that, Sans pulled you up from your seat and dragged you out to the dance floor. You were breathless after several fast-paced songs. You turned to go back to your table, but Sans grabbed your hips and pulled you back.

"Sans," you groaned. "I'm tired. You went and wore me out!" He chuckled and placed your right hand on his shoulder and held the other gently.

"just one more, doll. den we can relax."

"Fine," you heaved a sigh but still smiled wide at your skeleton. You loved him so much. You always worried about him when he went out on business. He was plenty strong and he earned his name and reputation, but you just couldn't help the fear you held every time he went to take care of business. Each time you said goodbye, you always wondered if it would be the last time you saw him.

"hey." You blinked and looked up at Sans as the two of you slowly danced. "ya doin awright, doll? ya looked like ya were spacin out dere."

"Oh, just thinking," you deflected.

"about anythin special?"

"You," you whispered and pressed a kiss to his jaw. "I've missed you so much. I'm glad you're back safe."

"hey, wit a dame like you waitin fer me, how could i not come home?" You didn't answer. You knew he was just trying to lighten the mood a bit, but you couldn't help but worry. "but, uh, dere was somefin else i wanted ta talk ta ya about."

"Oh?"

"yeah, i, uh." He cleared his nonexistent throat. "tonight's been pretty nice, right? some good food, some bad laughs, an some nice company?"

"Sans, this night has been absolutely magical."

"right. so, uh, it's been a while-"

_**CRASH** _

Sans quickly wrapped his arms around you when you flinched at the loud noise. You didn't know what was going on. There were two more loud crashes followed by several terrified screams. You peeked under Sans's arm to see bright orange flames dancing in the room. Those were not magical flames. Grillby was working to control them, but it wasn't as easy when he didn't create them. You buried your face into Sans's chest when you heard the gunfire. Sans scooped you up and carried you somewhere. You were too afraid to look. You did finally blink your eyes open when Sans gently set you down on the ground.

"hey, lookit me." You stared directly into his eyelights, giving him your undivided attention. "i'm gonna go help grillbz deal wit dis and whoever dese goons are."

"What-"

"stay here. franky'll watch out for ya." Franky nodded from where he was crouched down next to Sans.

"But, Sans-"

"no buts, doll. stay here, awright? stay safe." You opened your mouth to argue again. "please?" And promptly snapped it shut. Sans was strong, and he wasn't alone. He could handle the situation and the morons who decided to attack. You needed to stay safe so he could focus.

"Alright," you said quietly. "But remember what you said. This dame is waiting for you, so you'd better come home. Got that mister?"

"yes, ma'am," he said with a cocky grin. You grabbed his face and pressed a fierce kiss to his sharp grin.

"I love you."

"love ya too, doll. now get goin." Franky helped you up and stood between you and the sounds of chaos and fighting. You quickly lost sight of Sans as he ran off to help Grillby. You forced yourself to turn back to the situation at hand. You had to stay safe. Sans couldn't take care of himself if he was too busy worrying about you. You stayed low to the ground as Franky slowly led you to one of the escape doors.

You were almost there, almost out, almost to safety when a blinding pain hit you. You cried out and frantically clutched your side as you collapsed into a heap. You glanced down to see your hands covered in blood. Was that your blood? What happened? You couldn't help but cry out again when Franky scooped you up as carefully as he could and raced to the nearest escape route. Once he got you outside, he quickly carried you over to the car where Benny was already waiting with the back door open.

Your ears were ringing, muffling the sound of the engine and the two men talking. You were only able to make out the word 'ricochet' before you fell unconscious. 

* * *

You slowly regained consciousness, but your head was still fuzzy. You tried to blink your eyes open, but the lids were just too heavy. Your head swam in your semi-conscious state. You knew something was wrong, but you couldn't find it in you to react. Then you heard a sound. The sound slowly cleared up bit by bit until you could make out actual words. 

"i want em all dead, boss."

"RELAX.  YOU  KILLED  ALL  THE  ONES  WHO  ATTACKED.  THE  HUMANS  WON'T  BE  FOOLISH  ENOUGH  TA  TRY  AGAIN."

"that ain't enough! i need ta keep her safe!"

"YOU  CAN'T  PROTECT  HER  FROM  EVERYTHIN."

"i have ta protect her from me! if i can't protect her from dis, den how can i-"

"DON'T  BE  STUPID.  SHE  KNOWS  FULL  WELL  WHAT  THE  MOB  LIFE  ENTAILS.  SHE  KNOWS  WHAT  IT  WOULD  MEAN  TA  SAY  YES."

"but dat don't-"

"SANS,  LOOK."

You were finally able to blink your eyes open, but everything was blurry. 

"sweetheart!" You felt two bony hands clutching tightly at yours. "doll, can ya hear me?"

"S-Sans?"

"yeah, it's me, sweetheart. how ya feelin?"

"WELL,  THAT'S  A  STUPID  QUESTION.  SHE  WAS  SHOT!  HOW  DO  YA  THINK  SHE  FEELS??" You still couldn't see clearly, but you could almost hear the glare that Sans was shooting Papyrus.

"Wha happen?" you mumbled.

"SOME  HUMAN  GANGSTAS  WERE  STUPID  ENOUGH  TA  THINK  THAT  THEY  COULD  LAUNCH  A  SURPRISE  ATTACK  ON   _THE  STARRY  NIGHT_.  THEY  FOUND  OUT  THAT  THERE  WOULD  BE  SEVERAL  HIGHER  UPS  FROM  THE  FAMILY  PRESENT AND  THOUGHT  THAT  THEY  COULD  WIPE  US  OUT.  THEY  WERE  MISTAKEN." Your vision finally cleared enough for you to see that you were in a private hospital room. Sans was sitting in a chair to your left, still clutching your hand, and Papyrus stood at the foot of your bed. You took a moment to look the brothers over and see that they both appeared to be a little worse for wear. Their suits were torn and scuffed and they both had several marks on their bones. They certainly looked banged up, but you couldn't see any breaks.

"Are they gone?"

"yes," Sans growled. "dose assholes ain't neva comin back. dealt wit dem maself." He didn't elaborate, but he didn't need to. You'd heard tales of "Judge Red" and the fearsome Karmic Retribution that he would rain upon those who crossed him. He once explained the power to you. If those men died, it was because they had more LV than their souls could handle when the reckoning came.

"Good." Sans opened his mouth, but quickly closed it and glanced away.

"AHEM.  WELL,  I'M  GLAD  TA  SEE  YOU'RE  AWAKE.  I'LL  JUST  GO  MAKE  SOME  CALLS  AND  LET  EVERYONE  KNOW  YOU'RE  ALRIGHT."

"Thank you, Papyrus." He nodded to you and then shot a quick but meaningful look at Sans before walking out the door. There was a moment of silence after the door closed behind him.

"sweetheart," Sans began quietly. "sweetheart, i am so sorry. i neva shoulda let ya outta ma sight."

"Sans, relax. I'm alright."

"yer not awright! ya got shot!"

"It was just a ricochet, right? I think I remember Franky saying something about that before I passed out in the car."

"franky," Sans growled. "don't get me started on _franky_. i'll be dealin wit him later."

"Sans, he didn't do anything wrong. He protected me just like you told him to."

"he didn't protect ya good enough!" He growled and you gently held his hand. "i know, i know. ya think i need ta calm down. but how am i supposed ta be calm when yer hurt? dis is all ma fault."

"No, it's not. It's the fault of those thugs who thought that they could get the better of you."

"ya wouldn't've been in any danger if it weren't fer me. dey wanted me dead. i'm da one draggin ya inta all dis mob stuff."

"Sans, I've been wrapped up in mob life since the day my father signed on with the Dreemurr family. And you know as well as I do that once you're in there is no getting out. The safest place for me now is on the arm of a mob boss. I'm just lucky enough to have fallen in love with one. You've already proven that anyone who messes with me ends up dead."

"yeah,  _anyone_."

"Sans, please. I told you, Franky did his best"

"his best wasn't good enough. ya still got hurt."

"From one stray bullet. I'd be a lot worse off if not for him." Sans glared at you and you stared back defiantly.

"fine." he growled eventually. "but i still gotta make an example, even wit our own guys. yer precious and i ain't gonna tolerate you gettin hurt. ever. franky gets punished, but i'll make sure all da boys know dat he's gettin away wit just a slap on da wrist cause yer da one dat asked."

"Thank you," you said sweetly and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of his hand. "I guess it pays to be a mobster's girl. The perks are pretty nice."

"yeah, it's nice," he agreed, nuzzling your joined hands. "but ya know what's even nicer?"

"What's that?"

"bein a mobster's wife." You froze.

"Wife?" You pulled your hand back to look him in the face. He was sweating and looking more than a little nervous.

"i, uh, y-yeah. wife. it ain't how i planned it. dose mooks went an messed it up. but, uh, da plan was ta, well." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little velvet box. ""wanted da night ta be memorable in a good way. instead, we got dis." He frowned. "i'm sorry it's all a mess." You blinked away tears as you looked into his eyes. He stared back for a long moment before standing from his seat.

"Sans, wha-" You quickly silenced yourself when he got down on one knee.

"so, i know dis ain't how i planned it. probably ain't how ya thought it'd be, neither. all i know is, i love ya. loved ya since i first laid ma eyelights on ya at dat stupid party. today, i thought i was gonna lose ya. almost did. i ain't about ta let ya slip away now. so, whaddya say? ya wanna get hitched?" Sans opened the ring box to reveal the beauty inside. A large diamond sat in a gold band, flanked by a pair of vibrant rubies. 

"S-Sans..." The tears were coming in earnest now. This wasn't just any ring. "Sans, th-this..."

"it's yer grandma's ring, right? dat's what yer dad said when he gave me it. said ya always loved dis ring."

"Y-yeah," you said with a watery chuckle. Sans's smile grew wider at the look of pure joy on your face.

"so, lady fiore. what's it gonna be? ya wanna become lady fontaine de gaster?"

"Sans," you whispered. "I don't care what you call me, as long as you call me yours." Sans stood up and leaned down to kiss the breath out of you. When you broke away you were both smiling so wide that it hurt. Sans quickly slipped the ring onto your finger and kissed you again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: my Mafiafell head canon is that, since Mobster and Monster are only one letter apart, the Monster Mob is called the Mon. 
> 
> I live for the reviews you guys leave so please leave lots!
> 
> You guys can submit ideas/requests/prompts here or on my Tumblr @ladyarkytiorofdunans. You can also feel free to ask me questions about my stories or the head canon that goes along with them.


	10. Delta Rune Meet Cute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm riding the Delta Rune hype and this popped into my head. Not really a spoiler if you haven't played Delta Rune yet. Just a vague reference to something that happens in the epilogue that in no way has anything to do with the actual plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! Trying to work on NaNoWriMo, but I've been all over the place. I'm writing, but I'm having trouble sticking to one story at a time :/  
> Here's something short and sweet while I work on Lost in Translation and the one shot requests.

It wasn't easy being one of the only humans in town. The monsters were kind, but they all had a tendency to ask the strangest questions. Especially the kids. Well, suppose that's what you get for teaching monster kids in a monster town.

You gathered up the pile of completed homework papers and placed it in your bag. Teaching the younger kids meant that grading papers was easy if time consuming. You could finish it at home after changing into some comfy pj's.

Once you stepped outside the building, you paused to take a deep breath. Autumn was so beautiful. The trees were full of colorful leaves and the wind carried the sweetest smells. You pulled your coat a little tighter and started on your way home.

You were about half way home when a large gust of wind hit you and knocked your bag from your shoulder. You barely had time to gasp as all of the homework pages spilled out and began fluttering down the street.

"No!" you cried. You ran after them, trying to grab any that you could reach, but you knew it was useless. Suddenly, every single page glowed blue and dropped to the ground. You blinked in surprise, not sure how to respond.

"hey there." You turned to see a skeleton monster. He had one hand in the pocket of his blue hoodie, the other was extended and glowing the same blue as your papers. "the weather's pretty awful, huh?"

"Oh, um, I guess?"

"this strong wind really _blows_." The pun caused you to give a startled snort. You could feel your face burn as you covered your mouth in embarrassment. Hopefully he would think your cheeks were red from the wind.

"oh, you liked that one, did you? i've got tons more where that came from. a skele-ton." You giggled at his wink.

"Thanks for the help," you said shyly and began picking up the papers. The glow faded from each one when you touched it.

"i couldn't just stand by while a pretty lady was in trouble." He followed along as you picked up the papers, keeping his hand out and the blue magic going. "i actually know some paper puns too."

"Really?"

"yeah. i probably shouldn't tell em though."

"Why not?"

"well, they're pretty _tear_ -able." You laughed as he glanced down at the papers. "huh. these look like homework pages."

"They are. I'm a teacher at the school."

"cool. hey, what did the history book say to the math book?"

"I don't know. What?"

"you have a lot of problems." You snickered.

"I told a chemistry joke to my students once.

"yeah?"

"Yeah. But there was no reaction." He laughed so hard that his magic stuttered. You were quick to grab the few pages that escaped his hold.

"that was a good one," he chuckled, wiping a glowing blue tear from his eye. "do you like knock knock jokes?"

"I do." You grabbed the last of the papers and carefully put them back into your bag.

"alright. knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"to."

"To who?"

"actually, it's 'to whom'."

"Nice. Knock knock."

"who's there?"

"Henrietta."

"henrietta who?"

"Henrietta worm that was in his apple."

The two of you continued on like that for some time. You shared various puns and knock knock jokes of questionable quality. All too soon, you realized just how late it was getting.

"This has been fun," you beamed at him.

"yes it has, human," he replied cheekily. 

"Oh," you slapped your forehead. "I never actually introduced myself." You gave him your name, but he just shrugged off you apologies.

"nice to meet ya. names sans. sans the skeleton." He held out his hand and you quickly shook it, laughing when the small whoopee cushion in his hand made its presence known.

"Did you really just?"

"what can i say? it's a classic." Finally, you got your breathing under control again. 

"Well, it was very nice to meet you, Sans."

"same. i'm glad the first new face here is a friendly one."

"The first?"

"i just moved here with my little brother. don't really know anyone yet."

"Oh, you'll make plenty of friends pretty quickly. Everyone in town is very friendly."

"good to know." You thanked him again and said your goodbyes.

Later that night, you were bundled up on your couch in your favorite pj's grading papers. You were just over halfway through the stack of homework when you found a scrap of paper mixed in.

> after you lost your papers, i was worried you lost your phone number. figured i'd give you mine just in case.

Sure enough, a phone number was written below. You smiled and tucked the paper away someplace safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to keep submitting requests/prompts.
> 
> If you want to see what I have to say about Delta Rune, or share what you think, check out my Tumblr @ladyarkytiorofdunans


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